Inheritance
by PinkCitrus
Summary: When the richest legendary, Gold Roger dies he leaves behind his will which is instead turned into a game as his former friends and business partners compete for the right to inherit it all. With the stakes high and murderers running loose it's going to be a hard game to win and even harder to trust anyone. AU (Mainly Lawlu but minor pairings included.) Longfic
1. The Hunter, The Tiger and The Fisherman

**AN: Hey all, yeah I know I have too many things going on now but this has been a much more longer planned project and I feel like with the moving and school starting up that it might be a while before anything new is uploaded so I'm putting this early chapter up as a bonus. FAIR WARNING this story will contain significantly darker material that may be unsettling or graphic and I will put warnings up for those chapters but please note that this story will get darker later on. Thank you for reading it though and I hope you like it!**

* * *

The train lurched forward suddenly and the passengers all used to the sudden stops and starts by now merely adjusted to it, shifting their bags slightly to the sway as the doors opened and more riders got on. Luffy yawned, rubbed at a corner of his eye and turned to stare out the window, bored and looking for something different, beside him Chopper, his younger brother was digging through their bag. The train began to slowly move again and with a groan, he turned away from the dirty window to look at Chopper.

"We got anymore jerky left in there?"

"You ate it all on the last train, don't you remember?" He groaned and leaned dramatically back in his seat.

"No food…growing so weak." Chopper giggled, brown curls bouncing at each giggle.

"It's impossible, you just ate!" He grinned, reaching out and tousling the boy's hair.

"You'd know huh? See you're already a great doctor!" Chopper gave him a light punch on the arm and he grabbed at his arm. "Ah you broke it!" This time he got a punch in the right shoulder and he grabbed at that one. "Ah I've been shot, you're tiny hands are pulverizing me."

"I thought I broke your other arm how are you grabbing at your shoulder then?" Caught he dropped the act and instead chose to attack his brother's stomach, tickling until the poor boy was doubled over in the seat gasping. Victorious, he sat back up properly in his seat now, aware that their stop was fast coming up. Outside the brick houses had turned to bleached stone ones and the smell of the sea was so strong it was leaking through the cracks of the window.

Chopper bounced over his lap to get a closer look and despite the importance of the trip he did want them to find some time to go fishing here. The train came to their stop and he snatched up their bags and popped his brother on his shoulders and headed out the doors.

Hot air blasted them as they made their way through the crowds, with Chopper pointing out interesting sights to him as they made their way further out towards the sea.

"Hey keep a look out for a guy with a sign!" He shouted over the noise of the crowded beach, he didn't need to remind him but he was just glad that Chopper was already having fun. They often didn't get to go anywhere much and he was glad at least that his brother could see this. Up ahead was more beach front and what appeared to be a line of hotels further down but he didn't think they'd need to go out that much.

A man selling ice cream waved to them and he veered off to the side a bit, trying to avoid tourists and large crowds of friends. It was hot but they were used to this weather and he thought again about taking them both out to fish, even for just a day.

"I think I see one, past the hotdog guy!" He squinted, spotting a hot dog vendor and a small boat a bit further ahead.

"Good job, you ready to fly?" When Chopper gave a cheer, he took off, bolting over the hot sand and around sunbathers and laughing as Chopper would keep score of points he'd make, how he nearly hit that one guy but dodged and jumped over a whole basket and blanket set out. He slowed down as they approached the boat; a large man with weathered skin was sitting out beside it in a small lawn chair, fanning and grinning as they approached.

"I can tell you boys are fishermen too, you looking for some tips?" The man said grinning. Luffy pointed at the sign beside the old man. In terrible hand writing it said "Free rides to the reading of Roger's will, must present invitations." He let Chopper down to look around, and the man grunted offering a hand to shake but not moving from the chair. He shook it, briefly reminded of his own grandpa's coarse hands.

"I'm Luffy, we're here for the reading." The man didn't make a move to get up but merely sighed.

"Yeah guess that'd make you boys about the 20th person to take over there. I'll need to see your invites though." He reached into his bag, digging them both out and let the man read over them. Chopper was now inspecting the boat but was looking eager to ride on it already. The old man handed back the invites after putting a little stamp on them in the corner and gestured towards the boat.

"You can get on if you like, but I'd like to wait for more people to show up, it's a waste of gas you see and I ain't getting paid all that much. You can go check out the boardwalk too but I'd not go too far."

"No we can wait around here, it's cool we are a little early." More like two hours early he thought but they had to be, he was terrible at getting up at the right time. Chopper had wandered back looking expectantly up at him.

"Can I go explore?"

"Just around the ship, we don't know when we'll take off." Satisfied Chopper took off, kicking up sand and headed towards the waterline. The man shifted a bit before looking back at him, grin still firmly in place.

"So I was right, you do fish."

"When we make time for it."

"There's some good spots round here, some common ones, I'd avoid the piers and the cove."

"Cove?"

"Yeah there's a cove nearby. I'll show you when we pass by it but there ain't much there unless you're that good." He laughed at that, quiet unpopular spots were his favorite places to fish, but he was glad to know about it, he'd tell Chopper once they set out.

"Thanks old timer."

"Call me Jeremy, and uh you guys seem like nice people so don't take this the wrong way but uh you might want to make sure all your valuable stuff is hidden." Confused, he scratched his head at that.

"What do you mean?" Jeremy leaned forward a bit more, talking quieter.

"I took some group off earlier; there was some real shady looking types. Now you boys look like some nice people so I don't know. All these shady people going to a reading who knows what all they might do for cash." He frowned a little; they didn't really have much on either of them, just a bit of cash and some clothes and fishing supplies.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." Jeremy gave him a nod and sat back, stretching out in the sun again. He went to sit down near the waterline, keeping Chopper in his sights when he remembered the ring on his finger. It was an old gold ring his grandfather had given him when he'd turned sixteen, the only thing worth any sort of money he had aside from his fishing poles. He twisted it around on his finger, looking at the engravings of boats and fish on it before sliding it off. A small band of lighter tanned skin was underneath and it stood out in stark contrast with the rest of him.

He slipped the ring into a small zippered pocket of his shorts, reminding himself to hide it better later when the reading was over. The sand was hot, but he didn't care, merely stretched out and laid on it, listening to Chopper splashing around nearby. Time passed, a few beach goers would pack up and another group would take their spot, Chopper would end up bringing him small things he'd find, shells harmless jelly fish and small crabs before racing back towards the ocean.

He was just drifting off, when he heard a loud shout and immediately sat up, looking for Chopper who was sitting nearby, building a small castle. The shout had come from a rather portly man standing in front of Jeremy.

"We need to shove off, take off however the hell it is you refer to it and go, it starts in thirty minutes!" The man continued, jabbing a finger at Jeremy. Luffy sighed, checked the time on his phone and sighed again, so he would end up being late somehow anyway. He could hear Jeremy trying to please the man and he got up, walking towards the boat, knowing Chopper was following just behind him.

"Hey old man it's fine we're ready to go, I can pay for the gas if it helps." The shouting man merely looked at him in disgust but Jeremy waved the offer off and gestured for the ship.

"Nah I won't make you do that, three people is fine enough and he's right you guys need to go." He wanted to argue it but the angry man shoved past him, getting on the boat first, he rolled his eyes and let Chopper on ahead of him before carrying their stuff up and sitting down in one of the front seats.

"You two don't have to sit up front, you can sit back here in the shade if you like."

"We're fine here, it's nicer up front." He said, not really wanting to sit near the rude guy in the back, shade or no shade. Chopper was already looking excited and he had to tug the boy down to sit more firmly in the seat.

Chopper could swim some, but he didn't trust the boy leaning so closely over the edge, he hadn't taught him how to swim in the deeper water just yet. The old fisherman tossed them lifejackets and he double checked to make sure Chopper's was fitted properly before putting his on.

"Alright here we go." The boat began to pull out, the old man giving it another push until the whole boat was far from the bank and hopping back on, splashing water everywhere. Luffy turned in his seat to watch the older fisherman start the boat, he caught the rude guy looking angry and flustered and spotted something shiny and gold around the man's fat neck. He didn't get a good look as Chopper was tugging on his arm to get him to look ahead as the boat began to take off.

"I'm watching." He said reassuring his brother, but looking out to the sides as the beach disappeared and the waves picked up. It was loud and fast, the boat speeding up Chopper's cheers drowned out by the engine and wind and he even had a hard time trying to hear what the fisherman was trying to say so instead he'd look to where the man would point, at passing woody islands or distant piers.

The wind whipped around them, blowing his hair all over the place and he held on tightly to his hat and Chopper's as the boy nearly lost it several times now.

"Do you see it?" The fisherman shouted as loud as he could and Luffy strained to hear what else he was saying but he saw it, a small island in the distance, and what he thought was another hotel was a mansion as they got closer. Roger's mansion. The fisherman was pointing somewhere else now and he could see a small circle in the distance nearby the house, with a bit of rock poking out. It must have been the cove they were talking about but he didn't hear anything else as the boat made a sharp turn around one of the edges and he could see from the steep drop of the cliff that the mansion was even bigger than his grandpa had described.

The boat began to slow, bumping along now to smaller waves and pulling in closer to a dock near the front. The rude man from before was complaining about the water and wind but no one was paying attention as they all stared at the looming house and the large steel gates in front of it.

"Wow, it's…scarier than grandpa said." He reached out and patted the boy's head.

"It's alright just old, look it's got a face kinda, like those two big windows and the bit of wood there make it look silly." Chopper smiled but seemed scared still and he pulled his brother closer, into a hug. "Don't worry I'm here I'll kick anyone's butt, even a house if it's nasty." This time Chopper laughed.

The boat was stopped now, rocking gently in place as Jeremy tied it to the dock. They got off, bidding the old fisherman goodbye save the rude man who stomped off angrily. They followed after, following arrows until they found themselves off to the side of the mansion where a large number of chairs had been left out and were mostly filled. A group of people stood on a tiny platform in front of the chairs and the man in front of the podium greeted them as they looked for seats.

"Ah a few more people, we're just missing two others now, and please have a seat." Luffy noticed there weren't really any good seats left, three were far off in the back near a group of annoyed looking people and one lone seat in between a dark haired woman and a large muscular guy with bright blue hair.

They took the latter seat, moving Chopper to sit in his lap rather than on his shoulders in case it might block someone's view and there were a lot of intimidating people here who looked like they didn't want to be ticked off. The house looked friendlier than this bunch he thought, noticing that the woman beside him gave him a small if fake smile and the man with blue hair making 'tch' noises now and then.

They sat awkwardly, listening to quiet mutterings and hushed whispers. The man with the blue hair had turned and started talking with a guy who was smoking a cigar and the woman pulled out a book now, not paying any attention. Chopper had made some nervous sound before looking at him worriedly. He was about to make a joke when the microphone crackled as the man up front greeted another late comer.

Everyone had turned to look and he watched as a woman with bright pink hair made her way to the back followed by a tall man with a pointed mustache and who was carrying something large on their back, it took a minute but he noticed it was oddly shaped, almost like a large sword.

"Well that looks like everyone! All fifty of you have arrived and I'm so glad to meet all of the friends of the great Gol-"

"Get on with it!" Shouted a red-haired man from the back and the interrupted man looked annoyed but continued.

"Yes well, as you have all been informed you have all been left something from Mr. Roger which we shall pass out now." The others that had been sitting quietly behind the man stood now, carrying large bundles of envelopes and going around, passing them out to each person. A lady handed him one and he noticed that it had his name on it.

Once everything was distributed the group returned to their seats and the man continued.

"Please open them now."

Chopper gave him a look but he shrugged and tugged his open. There were two papers inside, one was white and on it were bullet pointed rules and the other was red, and it was smaller, the size of a business card and on it were only two lines in gold print.

 ** _Follow the silence to a quiet place, where your path shall begin._**

 ** _Beware the hunter hiding in the tiger's den._**

He re-read the lines, confused and he could hear people arguing and grumbled around him. The blue haired man had bolted upright, the chair falling back and hitting some orange haired lady behind them.

"Hey watch it you jerk!" She shouted but was ignored as the blue haired man waved a blue card in the air.

"What the hell is this? I didn't come all the way out here on a work day for some riddle bullshit." At that the yelling increased, the man on the platform was trying to talk over them but it was useless, He let Chopper look at his card but was still lost.

Finally a woman stepped up to the platform and took the microphone, making it crackle louder than before and silencing the arguing group.

"Sit down and shut up, this is important and if we can't get to this part, no one is getting shit." She snapped. Silence felt, the blue haired man sat back down slowly. The woman passed the microphone back to the man who quietly thanked her.

"Yes well, as you have opened them inside are two papers. One with the rules and a small card with your starting clue." A murmur started up again but the man ignored it.

"Please hold all questions to the end, I promise this won't be so confusing. Now this is simple, Mr. Rogers felt that an ordinary will was not good enough, as you all know he was very popular and since he had no living family there would be a large amount of people clamoring for what all he had." He paused then as this got everyone's attention. The lady from before had started to roll out a small white board that Luffy noticed had the same rules on it as the paper.

"So he decided that a game, a competition to prove who would truly inherit it all was the best choice, despite how silly we thought it he made sure this was going to be a serious game." The man pointed towards the board now starting with the top one.

1\. Each person is started off with one starter clue; each clue leads that person down their individual path that may or may not cross with others.

"Your paths are all based on you, the person, you may have help but it will ultimately be up to you. Each clue shall lead you to the next one. You must find all ten of your clues and verify each one before you're allowed onto the next stage." He moved his pointer down to the second rule.

2\. Each person must spend a night in the mansion, they may pass on it only once after that it is required and refusal to do so is instant disqualification.

"You will all eventually stay in the mansion once your turn comes up. You may choose not to the first time we call you but afterwards you must or you'll be out."

3\. All clues are hidden about the three main cities and around Raftel and the Roger Estate.

"Clues are nowhere else, everything was hidden beforehand carefully by Roger and his friends."

4\. Each person has five months to find all their clues, those that do not verify all before time is up will be disqualified.

"You have to find ten clues in total, once you have the first stage is over and we'll move directly into the second part, the part where we decide who shall inherit anything." And finally he moved his pointer to the last rule.

5\. Any major crimes, arrest and charges equals instant disqualification.

"Despite this type of game, we do not wish to encourage any criminal behavior so any sort of arrests and charges will disqualify you." The man turned now staring at the crowd. "Any questions now?" The woman beside him raised a hand and he pointed at her.

"Will we be disqualified for being investigated or for talking with the police?" Another murmur went through the crowd but the man shook his head.

"No, only arrests and charges count." Another hand rose from the back and the man pointed at it, this time the red-haired man from before stood up.

"So we have to find what, ten of these and we win?"

"You move onto the part where you do get something yes. But you must verify each clue and we'll have you do that by phone." He gestured towards the table behind him where the group had put out clipboards and pens. "We'll need the phone numbers of each person, we'll call and keep you all updated on the status of all participants and you must verify your clues this way." When no one raised a hand the man continued. "You are all dismissed then, make sure to have numbers written down and as soon as you leave the estate you may begin searching for your clues."

He held onto Chopper nervously, the chatter around him had grown loud but more importantly he was worried because his grandpa had said nothing about this and he felt their one chance at turning things around had just gotten suddenly harder to do.

* * *

"I don't get it Luffy, I've read it lots of times now but I don't get it." Chopper said over dinner, pushing the little red car over to him. He shook his head, tapping his plate with his fork and staring at the card in front of him.

"That guy said only I'd know what it means, but I'm not sure myself. Hey eat your vegetables." He tapped at Chopper's neglected carrots but the boy wasn't paying attention, focused only on the book opened on the table.

"I read through all my books but I got nothing. How are we going to win this game?"

"I don't know but we're only going to stay here for another day, we'll check out later and go home."

"But didn't that man say the clues were all here? There can't be any back home, so we'll have to find it before we go."

"Well I was going to surprise you with some extra fishing so we can look tomorrow." Chopper looked up, surprised.

"Really? We'll look?"

"Yeah we'll give it a try and besides we can look at the same time as we fish." Chopper grinned, finishing dinner and hopping down to go wash up for bed. He stood then, cleaning up their plates and noticed just how dark it had gotten out from the motel window. He took a look out, towards the sea but couldn't see the Roger Estate and he closed the curtains with a sigh. His phone rang, vibrating in his pocket and he slipped it out to check, unknown number.

"Hello?"

"This is from the overseer of Roger's will." Came a clear firm voice, he was unsure if a man or a woman was talking to him, they sounded robotic. "There are currently fifty participants so far, no one has found their second clue." They hung up before he could say anything and he frowned, hanging up just as Chopper exited the bathroom.

"Was that grandpa?"

"No, one of those game people. Alright go get comfy, what chapter were we on?" He said digging through their bag for the story book that he'd been reading to Chopper. The boy was twelve now but would insist on a story before bed and he would always indulge him, though he was starting to run out of story books now. Whenever his friend Usopp would visit, it was much easier to let Usopp tell a story, the man was always filled with them and it gave him a break now and then.

"Chapter five, the one where the adventurer found the cave of treasure!" Pushing his brother over a little, he sat down on the motel bed and flipped open the book to chapter five, waiting for Chopper to be properly ready before reading out loud.

"The boy had found the cave his father had talked about and he readied his sword and slowly he crept inside, knowing that the chimera was guarding the way…"

* * *

 _Doot Doot Doot, Ding!_

Something flashing red near his eyelids made him stir.

 _Doot Doot Doot Ding!_

With a groan he swung his arm out, searching blindly in the dark for his phone, grabbing it when the flash of red light went off again.

 _Doot Doot-Click!_

"Hello?" He slurred, aware that he'd been drooling in his sleep again.

"Good morning, there are fifty participants in the game still and three people have already found their second clue." He blinked at that rubbing at his eyes.

"Who-what?"

"Three people have found their second clue. Good luck." The dial tone rang in his ear and he groaned, hanging up and looking at the time, it was four in the morning and he was never awake at this time. He rolled back over, burying his face into his pillow and trying to sleep again.

Chopper stirred beside him and he sighed, he wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep so easily. He got up, taking his phone with him to the bathroom. The bright light of the bathroom gave off a dingy yellow glow that made his eyes sting but he closed the door and hopped up on the counter, dialing the only person who he knew would be awake at this terrible hour. The phone was answered on the second click.

"What the hell you calling me for at this time boy? As far as I know you aren't alive at this time." He rubbed tiredly at his eyes and sighed into the phone.

"Grandpa I couldn't sleep, that's all I wanted to check in on you."

"I'm fine." There was a pause and he heard the old man cough for a moment before continuing. "How'd it go? Roger leave you anything good?"

"A game is all he left. And some vague riddles for everyone." He heard his grandpa sigh.

"Of course nothing was ever simple or easy with that man. I expected him to have something up his sleeve, Chopper enjoying the trip?"

"Yeah, we're going fishing tomorrow. We came out this way might as well." His grandpa laughed, pausing only to cough for a moment but laughing still.

"Didn't even get anything and you're still happy."

"Like I said a break to fish is nice before we go home, it won't be a total failure." He paused now, hearing the sound of the motel TV being turned on. Chopper was awake and he'd have to get them breakfast soon enough.

"Well game or no game, I know you won't be staying long so don't spend all your money before you can get home!" He murmured an agreement and said goodbye before hanging up and staring in the mirror beside him.

He looked tired but he smiled to himself, missed opportunity or not he'd give a shot at this riddle game, and with that he slid off the counter to go shower.


	2. All Went To The Beach One Day

It was hot again and he slung their fishing bag over his shoulder and headed out, Chopper trailing close behind him. They'd eaten a hearty breakfast and set out now, looking for a good spot to fish, though Chopper was looking around for a quiet spot as the clue had said. The beaches were full again and one glance at some nearby piers told him they'd not have any luck there either with all the different lines out.

He led them away from the beach, still following the shoreline but mainly avoiding crowds and looking around for some empty spot. A shop up ahead brightened up his tired mind already as he noticed the fishing sign and supplies setting out. A group of old men and one hardy looking woman were sitting right outside it chatting casually back and forth. He gave them a wave as he approached and they waved back him, one man with a long grey bead motioned for them come closer and he did, Chopper shyly trailing back.

"Good mornin' you looking for some lines? Lures? We got a good sale inside." The old man wheezed out.

"Something like that, wondered if you knew of some good spots. Ya'know away from the crowds." The man grunted something and jabbed a thumb off to some piers nearby.

"You can try over there but it gets crowded round lunch, or you could head out to the islands, otherwise there ain't much now at this time."

"Thanks, we'll try the islands." They left after buying two small lures and waved goodbye to the group before heading out, still going straight ahead. Chopper was picking up things now and then, pausing to inspect shells or to chase a sea gull around. They hadn't gone far when Luffy noticed a familiar boat in the distance, he squinted and saw a man lying out on the deck and grinned. Jeremy.

Jeremy had cheerily brought them aboard and after much persistence, accepted the gas money Luffy offered. They set out, boat cresting over waves and Chopper talking eagerly with Jeremy. He dropped his arm over the side, feeling the ocean water as they rounded towards the Roger Estate, heading towards some islands in the distance, a thought occurred to him and he motioned for the cove and Jeremy let out a laugh before pulling the ship towards the inlet.

The motor quiet now, Jeremy left the wheel and moved to grab the ropes but paused to look at him.

"You sure you want to fish at the cove though? I told you there ain't much here."

"I just need some time to think, and Chopper mostly wants to swim today." With a cheer Chopper hopped forward showing off the matching pirate floaty set. The fisherman laughed and hopped down, splashing in the water and pulling the boat towards a shallow end and up partly onto the shore.

He got off, sandals sinking into the hot sand and Chopper already swimming in a small shallow dip, looking at fish. Jeremy was dropping chairs over the side and a few towels before joining him, looking curiously at him.

"How'd that reading go? I'd expect you all to be rich and taken off back home."

"We don't get anything yet; I just needed a moment to think is all. We'll go to a better fishing spot later but they're probably all crowded right now."

"Or with teens, but yeah it's a nice spot, quiet not many people come here." He looked at the fisherman, thoughtful.

"Really?"

"Yeah it's too quiet apparently. I ain't complaining though, I'm going to relax and keep an eye on your son there for ya."

"Ah he's my brother, but I appreciate it old timer, I won't be gone for long." He promised and then after telling Chopper to stay insight of the older man he left walking the perimeter of the inlet.

It was beautiful, sea-green pools of trapped water lined the inside and he paused now and then to poke around in them, remembering some of the names of the creatures that Ace and Sabo had taught him. Not wanting to get lost in his thoughts just yet, he resumed his walk, taking note of the steep rocky outcropping further in.

He trailed in closer but kept an eye out on the water. The old-timer was right; there wasn't much fish around and to his surprise not even birds or normal animals. It was eerily quiet and he sped up, spotting a lone palm growing up against the rock.

He examined the old tree and then unable to help it, kicked off his sandals and scrabbled up the trunk, easily swinging himself onto the sturdy top and looking out. It wasn't the highest point but it offered a good enough view, he could see the mansion further out in the distance and he could hear Chopper's cheers in the distance. He turned slowly, looking all around and spotted what appeared to be a normal motorboat pulled up on another part of the shore.

Frowning he moved to get a better view of it. The boat was a dull sun washed yellow and inside of it he could make out someone's personal bags but he spotted no person. Giving up, he sat down on the top and brought his fishing pole out. There wasn't likely to be much here but it'd pass the time and he needed to think about all this riddle nonsense anyway.

He was never good at these games. Ace always made fun of him for that and Sabo would tell him to just cheat but he didn't think there was a way to cheat at something like this. It seemed those people from earlier, those on the phone were monitoring everything and he wondered why Roger would make up a game rather than just pick someone.

Curious, he reached into his shorts pocket, brushing against his ring he took off yesterday before finding the card and pulling it out again. He read it over and over and wondered if the color meant anything; the other's cards looked different. He re-read it slowly; technically he was in a very quiet place but didn't see any tigers or hunters around. Or a den for that matter.

He relaxed some; his back tickled by the fronds of the tree and tapped the red card against his head, letting his pole rest beside him. It couldn't be that literal or maybe it was more complicated, he wasn't sure but the idea of the great Roger hunched over a typewriter and trying to come up with so many rhymes did make him laugh.

This was silly. In the distance he heard Chopper's laugh and a splashing sound followed by the old man shouting something, what he couldn't make out. His eyes drifted over to the faded yellow boat. He couldn't see it as well sitting down but it still look undisturbed.

He pulled his straw hat further down over his eyes, keeping an eye on his pole and slowly shutting his eyes, tuning out what little noise there was and thinking. An old memory of the beach came to his mind, his grandpa laughing teaching him and his brothers to swim. He was lost again, focusing on Sabo's jokes and Ace's smile, long gone something he'd never see again. It hurt but these memories were of better times and it beat thinking about riddles or hunters or whatever the game wanted from him. He was just thinking of the first fish they had all caught together and he heard something odd, not a part of the memory.

"Are you alright?" Startled he opened his eyes and nearly fell out of the tree. He glanced down and saw a man looking up at him, arms crossed and looking at him suspiciously.

"I-I'm fine, sorry." He didn't know why he was apologizing but he took a moment to take in the odd man staring at him. Despite the sunny weather this man was wrapped up in a long dark coat and despite being dark-skinned as well seemed to glower from under a large white and black hat. The man wore gloves and boots and he wondered if the man was burning up from being so overdressed.

"I see, so you just sleep in trees then." The man said bluntly, not looking the least bit friendly. He laughed at that, not able to hold it back.

"So you just wear winter clothes to a beach?" He shot back. The man frowned and took a step back.

"I see you're fine, no signs of heat exhaustion. I'll leave you to…you're napping." The man turned easily around, walking back off towards the small boat. He stared after the man curiously and then couldn't help it, started to climb down from his spot.

"Hey wait-" He dropped down and ran to catch up and felt himself slowing automatically as the man up ahead stopped and he realized just how very tall the other man was. He also noticed that under the shadow of the hat the man didn't look quite as old as he predicted.

"I don't have time to talk." The man said, walking again. He frowned and moved so that he was walking beside the man, trying to match the longer legged stride.

"Hang on, I didn't know anyone else was gonna be here-"

"Don't let me disturb your peace then."

"No I mean, you're not a local right-"

"Correct."

"Well so you must be here for the clue thing." This time the man stopped again and turned to face him. He took a step back from the man, realizing he'd been too close and flashed a smile.

"I'm right yeah? You were looking for clues here." He continued. The man's face remained unchanged at that.

"Am I to believe that you are also a participant?"

"Yep, so I thought I mean, it's not against the rules to get help." The man dismissively waved him off, heading towards the boat again.

"I don't need help." Luffy, undeterred rushed ahead to the boat standing in the man's way.

"Okay I didn't say you needed help, I do! I can just help you back right? It's not cheating and we can't win with other people clues." The man ignored him, maneuvering carefully around him to get at the boat. Frowning, he put his hands on his hips, starting to get annoyed at how rude the guy was being.

"C'mon I bet the only reason you're here is for your clue. No one else comes here." At that the man paused in pushing the boat out, merely looking back at him. Hook, he thought and he gave a little shrug before continuing.

"I mean that's why I'm out here, cause I'm sure my clue is here too." It was a lie, he wasn't really sure but any kind of help would be useful, there were already people with their second clues. The man looked away for a moment, looking out at the sea and he followed the man's gaze but saw nothing interesting in particular. After a moment the stranger stood and turned to face him once more, arms crossed again.

"Your clue is out here." The man said, doubtful.

"I'm pretty sure it is, wanna see?" He asked, grinning. The man looked a bit surprised at that but warily looked him over.

"You'd let a competitor see your clue?"

"It's not a big deal; you can't win with other clues."

"Fine, a stranger, you'd let a stranger see your clue?"

"What's your name then?" He asked, feeling silly he hadn't asked that first. "Mine's Monkey D. Luffy. Just call me Luffy." He held out his hand and the man hesitated.

"Law." Law did not shake his hand and he dropped it easily back to his side.

"Okay Law, do you want to see my clue?" Law stared back at him for a moment before outstretching a hand, not breaking eye contact with him. He felt a bit unnerved by those golden eyes and easily handed over his card. After a moment of reading over it, something odd crossed Law's face before it was quickly hidden.

"Interesting. You might be right then." He took the card back but then started grinning.

"I knew I was right about the first part, but the second part I'm not so sure." Law said nothing, merely dropped a gloved hand into a hidden pocket in that long coat and removed something small and black.

"Mine." He blinked in surprise and took the black card that was held out for him. Suspicious himself he flipped it over carefully; the words were also in gold print.

 ** _Follow the shoreline, until you find where the waves touch the face._**

 ** _A stranger shall be there, don't let them have a taste._**

He read it carefully, not fully getting it but then did not hand it back right away.

"Well I think this the only place where there's a shore line and a small cliff face so…you were on the right track at least." The odd man had turned to look at the cliff face now, expression unreadable.

"I'm aware of the first part, like yours but I believe I may have figured it out." He looked up from the card in surprise.

"Really? Already?"

"If the card is mentioning a stranger here, then that must be you as I've seen no other people here." He handed the card back, astonished at how quickly the other man had figured that one out. Law took the card back and seemed to hesitate again before slipping the card back into the hidden pocket and then looking more pointedly at him again. He felt that unnerving stare again and he awkwardly shifted on his feet.

"So I guess you know where to get your second one?"

"I have a hunch." They stared at each other and he felt uncomfortable at being scrutinized so much.

"Well I'm glad one of us got help-"

"You're going to lead me to mine." It was not a suggestion but a command and he frowned at it.

"I don't know how-"

"It has something to do with yours; therefore it's most likely hidden nearby if we figure out yours." He didn't like being told what to do but the idea of getting some help sounded well. He frowned again though, thinking back on his own card.

"But I've not seen any tigers, dens or hunters." Law suddenly turned away from him, heading a ways past the boat. Surprised he followed quickly after, wondering what brought this on. Law led him to the cliff face and stared at it, searching and looking thoughtful.

"It's not literal. Perhaps its references something or someone else."

"What?"

"These clues are personalized to us, so yours must have something to do with what you already know."

"But I'm not a hunter, I'm a fisherman." At that Law gestured towards the ocean.

"Then do what you normally do. Fish." Confused he gave the taller man an odd look before thinking. Fishing? He was fishing but there's nothing here.

Law was tracing a hand down the craggy side, feeling about it, perhaps looking for openings or crannies. He dragged his eyes up towards the top of the small cliff. There wasn't much up top but blistering hot rocks from the sun. Then again, the top and highest point would be the best area to search for a good fishing spot. Perhaps he could see something related to tigers or hunters there as well. He squatted down, grasping handfuls of hot sand and crushing it up in his hands, letting it pour out. He did this a few more times before making his way to the cliff side.

There were natural dips and holes in the surface and he easily grappled on it, feeling the hot stone burning but not as bad as the sand. He started to climb, aware that Law had stopped searching and was now watching him.

He swung himself easily up further and further, feeling a cooler breeze and hotter rocks as he got close to the top. With one last heave he was up on the burning surface. He could see the whole cove, it was a small island outcropping but he didn't know it was that tiny. The mansion loomed in the distance; he squinted and could make out Chopper on the other side of the island, showing Jeremy something. He glanced back down and noticed that Law was struggling to see him, hand overhead to block out the afternoon sun. The shadow created an odd line along the man's neck and he looked away now out at the ocean.

He searched, his calloused feet helping him to walk across the rocks. He tried to think like a fisherman, like he would normally, would pause at some overhangs but found that the only suitable spot to fish in would be in the direction towards the mansion and he stood there on the edge, looking around.

Nothing.

Annoyed he sat down there on the edge; legs swinging over the side. It didn't make sense. If a card was up there it'd have been ruined by the weather or the sun. He stopped swinging his legs, looking thoughtful; he bent over, leaning dangerously over to peek under the overhang. A long time ago when he was younger his brothers often hid small prizes and toys in the spaces under overhangs, knowing that no other kid would stick their hand there.

He got up and checked under each one, pausing to feel about in the crevices beneath and on one of these he felt something plastic in one of the notches. He took a moment, firmly grasped the plastic and wished it wasn't garbage and slowly pulled it free.

A small thick sandwich bag with a black card in it came out. Stunned, he flipped it over to see the writing but found that a red card had been slipped in the bag as well. He did it. With a victory yell, he waved the bag in the air, saw Law gesture for him to come down and he did, easily racing and sliding back down.

He landed easily in the sand and held up the bag for the strange man to see.

"Look! It's both of ours, I can't believe I figure it out." Law looked on with mild surprise, and he handed him the correct card, making sure not to read it. They both glanced at one another and then turned away to read their cards.

 ** _A rich noble shall help you; he's got something to hide._**

 ** _Take his golden heart and go for a ride._**

This was one was even more cryptic than the previous one. He turned to ask Law about the cards being in the same spot and noticed the man was heading back to the boat, only stopping to give him quiet thanks before turning and walking away.

Just like that.

He watched the man leave, not sure if he should be happy he got some gratefulness at least but deciding it didn't matter. He was finally on board the game now and things were looking up. He glanced back down at his new card once more before going to go show Chopper.

* * *

"I just don't get why'd you help out a guy who's also competing" Garp said, slamming the bowl of potatoes down on the kitchen table. Chopper began to dole out potatoes but Garp was still staring at Luffy with exasperation.

"Grampa I told you, help isn't-"

"That's not the point. I'm glad you found the next one but so did he! I know I raised you well but c'mon on now I raised you smarter than that." Garp smacked the old table lightly and it creaked threateningly, the meat plate nearly toppling to the floor. He ignored that remark and began to load up his plate, stuffing his mouth so he wouldn't have to argue with the old jerk.

"But grandpa we got two cards now!" Chopper said happily, holding up the little cards. Garp scoffed and took the newest one from the little boy.

"What's this about a nobleman?"

"Dunno" he said around a mouthful of meat. Garp gave him the stink eye and flicked the card back to Chopper.

"Well use that rock you call a brain and think harder. Even Chopper has an idea for you." At that Chopper pushed a small book of fairytales on the table. Luffy glanced over and saw that the boy had opened it to the page on Robin Hood.

"Bro I think we are looking for a corrupt rich person."

"Sounds like a politician." Garp said bluntly, and then starting laughing, laughter booming in the small trailer and the table shook unsteadily again. He caught the wayward bowl of rolls from falling off easily.

"Maybe I should try to figure out the second part then, cause the second parts of these keep making me confused."

"Or maybe you should try harder and not help out the other competitors."

"Grandpa-"

"Don't you even argue this, all of Roger's old friends and acquaintances are all greedy and shady as hel-heck." The old man corrected quickly, flicking a glance at Chopper. Chopper looked up in shock.

"But grandpa weren't you one of his old friends?"

"That's what I'm sayin boy, I'm greedy and untrustworthy. I wouldn't trust anyone." The old man continued, only now pushing the book towards Luffy. "Here it's something; you need to read more books anyway."

He shot the old man a glare for that, and helped himself to a second helping.

After dinner he went about preparing for bed, putting Chopper's many books and toys away and tossing a blanket on his, now snoozing, grandpa. Normally on days like this he'd stay up, watch some more TV or play some games with Chopper but he was exhausted still from the train ride home and he had work at five in the morning. He just didn't feel like it tonight and with that he flicked off the light to the living room, heading to his shared bedroom in the back.

Chopper was already in bed, or specifically in one of the bottom bunk beds. The book they were currently reading sitting nearby and the boy tucked in and looking eager. He gave a tired smile at the sight and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Just one chapter tonight okay?"

"Actually…you don't have to read tonight."

"Its fine I can get one chapter in, I might fall asleep though." Chopper giggled but sat up.

"No I mean I want to talk about the clues instead." He groaned a little. It wasn't that those cards were not interesting but he pretty much told Chopper all he knew already.

"I haven't figured out anything else though."

"I know but…I mean grandpa was right Luffy. Books help me out when I'm stuck so maybe I can help out by finding more books yeah?"

"Well I don't know about Robin Hood-"

"Not just him! That one has so many stories, maybe there's a clue in there? A lot of these tend to have small poems so I thought…" The boy trailed off, looking unsure. Feeling a bit bad for doubting his brother he reached out for the thick book on the nightstand.

"Actually ya know I think I will read it some. At least it'll help me get some sleep right?" He joked and Chopper looked up at him, beaming.

"Okay, but read it all!"

"I know."

"And use a bookmark this time."

"I know, I know."

"And-"

"I know bro!" And with that he tossed the book up on the top bunk. Chopper had settled back into the pillows but was now looking thoughtfully at him.

"Was that guy bad?"

"Huh?"

"The guy you helped. Grandpa said they were all bad so…was he mean?" He thought back to the guarded man for a moment but shook his head.

"Not mean just…unfriendly?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, he didn't want to talk much but it's a good thing I got him too right?"

"I guess, I just I don't want anyone to be mean to you." He chuckled at that, reaching out and patting the boy on the head.

"Hey now, I'm like way stronger than everyone else. No one's gonna pick on me." Chopper nodded, pulling the covers up some more.

"Okay, but if they are you'll tell me right?"

"Yeah of course." They shared a smile and he tucked Chopper in a bit better before switching off the light and climbing up into his bed. He nearly landed on the book and carefully moved it to the side of the bed, where many bits of laundry and papers were tangled in a thin sheet.

He'd read it later, for now he fell face down onto his pillow and sighed deeply. He didn't think getting help was so bad and he had a feeling he wouldn't see that guy again anyway. He rolled over and shut his eyes, thinking of the work he'd need to do tomorrow.


	3. But Only Two Returned Home

He woke up to his phone ringing and when he answered it, barely awake and drooling he heard the same robotic voice from before.

"There are fifty participants still in the game. Four have found their second clue; one has found their third clue." Blearily remembering his own he fumbled for his clue.

"Wait I uh found mine, hang on." He dug the clue out from his kicked off pants and dazedly held it up to the phone confused. "How do I uh-"

"Please read your second clue out loud." He blinked and rubbed his eyes and did so, stumbling a bit on the last part but managing it and there was a small ringing sound.

"Uh-"

"Congratulations! Keep it up!" They hung up and he stared at his phone before checking the time. Thirty minutes away from work. He groaned and got up, carefully climbing down so as not to wake Chopper and quickly began to change.

In the kitchen his grandpa had left a fresh pot of coffee for him and a small muffin. He crammed the muffin in his mouth and poured a quick cup before heading out. It was better to be early to work because he could often score a larger breakfast there so with that he climbed into their only working car and set off for the ship yard.

Usopp was of course already there in the main yard, sitting on a pile of lumber and chatting up the delivery man before spotting him. Usopp was always one of the few people there at this time and he tiredly waved back as the man hopped up from the lumber and walked quickly over.

"Whoa never thought I'd see you this early."

"Yeah, I shouldn't be awake. There any more donuts left?" Usopp gestured towards the office and followed him as he headed straight for it. He needed more coffee and food before he was doing any heavy lifting.

"So?"

"So what?"

"So did you get anything yesterday from that multi-billionaire legend?"

"Oh uh no I have to play a game first."

"What!" He didn't answer that, merely popped open the door to the main office and set about making himself another cup of coffee. "You're kidding!"

"Nope." He loaded up on three donuts and ignored Usopp's groan.

"Man I thought you'd have enough to kick back for like ever dude. And maybe give some out to other great personal friends who you've known since forever and has a wedding coming up-"He laughed, already feeling better with Usopp chatting away.

"Dude I'd help you out if I got anything but nah I have to work for it."

"Figures." Usopp sighed, giving a shrug. The intercom above them crackled and a small ringing followed, signaling work and he crammed a donut in his mouth and hurried out behind Usopp.

Today was mostly pulling in supplies. Carrying lumber and equipment from the storage area all the way down to the main construction area, typically this was one of the harder days but it went by easier when he had a chatty friend to swap stories with. Usopp was talking mostly about wedding plans today but also about some bar fight he'd missed on his trip out. He mostly listened, reaching down and loading up on wood and carrying it easily over his shoulder, laughing now and then when Usopp would crack a wood joke, even if he heard it already Usopp always had a way of telling it differently each time.

They kept at this, until he was called away to carry paint buckets to the main yard and he gave a small wave to Usopp before moving off to the main yard. He mostly worked by himself then, carrying buckets and quickly daydreaming again, it was the only way time would move by faster.

Sometime around lunch, and after quickly eating two sandwiches did he take a moment to pull out his cards again to look at them. Usually he had lunch with Usopp but his friend had been called away to help with some sanding so he ate alone, resting on one of the many docks and dangling his feet into the cool water.

Despite being more awake, his cards made no sense still. He lined them up but the sentences didn't reveal anything hidden and he sighed putting his old one away and re-reading his newest one.

 _ **A rich noble shall help you; he's got something to hide.**_

 _ **Take his golden heart and go for a ride.**_

If the cards did have personal meaning to them he wasn't getting it. He didn't know anyone rich, save for Roger, in his life and he doubted he'd met one when he was away. He scratched his head, already feeling a headache coming on.

The golden heart didn't make any sense either, even if he knew a rich guy why on earth would they have a gold heart? He sighed, staring at the card. He just didn't get it, would he have to go looking for a rich guy? He straightened up and looked around himself. All other workers were about in the same boat as he was and Iceberg, the owner of the shipyard, was only somewhat richer than them all but not by much.

Perhaps it did have something to do with Roger? He kicked his feet, splashing water about. Did Roger own a gold heart? Or did it mean something else entirely? Now that he thought about it, he hadn't found a tiger or a hunter from the other one so maybe it didn't mean it literally?

"My head hurts." He groaned, rubbing his head.

"When you think that hard no wonder it does." Startled, he nearly dropped his card in the water.

"Not funny Vivi! Don't sneak up on me like that!" The blue haired woman laughed at him and came a little closer, dangling a small lunchbox in front of him.

"Here I was, thinking you might like some lunch-"

"Of course!" She tossed the box to him and he quickly opened it up, helping himself. She kicked off her heels and sat down beside him, dangling her feet but not touching the water.

"I meant to stop by yesterday but Garp said you and Chopper were out of town?"

"Yeah about Roger's will. It didn't go great." Her face darkened a considerable bit and she looked away, down at the water.

"I was, I mean, it would have been good if you had-"

"I know." He said quietly, he put the box down long enough to reach out and touch her shoulder. "Don't worry I can still get us some money." She looked at him then, sad eyes looking hopeful.

"Really?"

"Yeah it just, it'll be a bit longer."

"Well I'm sure we can wait. Ace has been doing great anyway!" She said cheerfully, he had a hard time trying to ignore the bit of pain in her voice. "By the way are you going to see him this week? He says he wants to see you and Chopper since you didn't go last week."

"I will, just as long as I don't get stuck with more hours." She gave him a little nod and went back to looking at the water. He knew that a lot of people and things were riding on this money but he didn't know if telling her about the game aspect of it would have made her worry less. He liked Vivi but she often smiled less these days. He finished the lunch box and piled the utensils back in neatly before handing it back.

"Glad you liked it. I guess Ace will like the same lunch then."

"Hey your cooking is the best, he'll eat anything and if he doesn't I will!" She laughed and he smiled to himself at it.

"You know I shouldn't be surprised at how much you brothers eat." A thought occurred to him, Vivi was smart, and she was one of the smartest people he knew in fact. He dug out the card from his pocket and then showed it to her; she raised an eyebrow and took it.

"You got any idea what it's talking about? I've been trying to figure it out." She looked at him questionably but read over it, murmuring the words to herself.

"It is an odd couplet."

"Couplet?"

"A type of poem that only has two lines. I'm not sure about this…nobleman it's talking about but the second part must mean some jewelry."

"Wait really?"

"Golden Heart? If he's a rich guy he probably owns some gold jewelry and well if it's a heart then maybe some kind of locket?" His jaw dropped, a locket made perfect sense now.

"Okay, see this is why you got into college, cause your smart." She lightly slapped him on the shoulder.

"Oh please that part I get, not sure about the ride or the rich man part but I get it, it must mean a locket. Is this some kinda odd game you have with Usopp or something? Cause if I helped you cheat-"

He plucked the card back and grinned at her.

"It's a secret!"

"I totally helped you cheat."

"Maybe." She shook her head and stood, slipping on her heels.

"Well maybe that'll help some. If you did bet something it had better be good."

"Going already?"

"I have to; you know how the office gets when I'm gone for too long." She gave him a brief hug and took her lunchbox back. "Well I hope that was a bet cause that's some terrible poetry you've written." He laughed, waving her goodbye as she walked off toward the main yard, heels clicking against old boards.

* * *

That night he couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned and when he couldn't settle thought about lockets, or any sort of lockets he'd seen but he recalled none. Nothing in his memory added up, no rich men, save those who came to his town for boats and none wearing lockets. Frustrated he got up, climbing out of bed and going into the kitchen.

Sleep was needed as he worked six days a week and missing a night of sleep meant an especially harder day but he just couldn't and he wondered aimlessly around the kitchen, looking at what little food they had before giving up and going into the living room.

Tonight Garp had fallen asleep in a bed, instead of the recliner and he picked up the abandoned newspaper sitting in it. The headlines were talking about some new investor that came to town but otherwise looked boring and he set it aside before dropping into the chair.

He leaned back and stared at the ceiling, bored tired and thinking way harder than he should. He considered calling Ace or Usopp but thought better of it, they needed more sleep than he did for sure and he wasn't about to wake the old man just to talk about some bad poems keeping him up.

Desperate, he almost wished another stranger would show up to help, he didn't care if it was competition it was better than trying to stay up and figure this out on his own. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to recall if he had seen lockets, necklaces of any kind anywhere.

There was the woman from the reading, jet black hair and with a book but she wore no jewelry. The orange haired lady that had yelled had a watch and earrings but no necklace. The late man that had come in wore a cross but he hadn't really gotten a good look at it or anyone else much.

The tall man from before, Law, appeared in his mind but he didn't know if the man wore a necklace or not as the coat would've hidden it. He opened his eyes, a new idea forming. Maybe Law could help him again? He hopped out of the chair and rushed to the calendar near the front door, carefully flipping through the pages, searching for his next day off.

Saturday, he would have a chance then to head back out and look. He could head out right after work and search around for the man, or get an idea of where he'd be at least. With a grin he put a small star by the date and headed back to bed, actually feeling tired for once.

* * *

It had been a long week of work and his grandpa telling him off for wasting a day off to go search around the city for someone but he didn't care, at this point he would have taken any kind of help. Over the week others had found their third and fourth clues, making him much further behind these fifteen or so people and he didn't want the gap to get worse.

The only problem was it was much more boring riding the train there alone but it was also much harder to look around alone. He had a plan in mind at least but he wished Chopper or someone had come along with him, even though he imagined that Law probably wouldn't appreciate extra company.

After getting off the train and heading out of the terminal his phone rang and he moved off to the side, noticing the many food vendors around and feeling hungry.

"Hello?"

"Hey man, called your house where the hell have you been?" Usopp's voice rang out, sounding excited. "There's a party happening tonight and everyone's telling me you went on a trip again, for real? On your one day off?"

"I had to; it had to do with the money." He heard Usopp sigh and someone else in the background talking. "Wait, are you already partying? It's like nine in the morning."

"No Kya wants me to pick up some things. Hey look I know that money is important to get but I mean Ace has been calling. He said he really needs to talk to you."

"He knows to just call me."

"No I mean he needs to see you. Something important." They both went quiet and he felt uncomfortable. He did not need to think about that right now, not when he needed to find Law and fast.

"Did you hear me?"

"Yeah."

"You going to see him?"

"Yeah, once I get a chance I promise." He said, distracted. He heard Kya on the other end and Usopp's voice changed slightly, kinder.

"I'm sorry man; I know…I know things aren't great now. I normally wouldn't remind you but he's been calling a lot and-"

"It's alright I'm not mad. If he calls again tell him I'll see him soon. Really." Usopp grunted but agreed and hung up. He stared at his phone for a bit before pocketing it and heading out.

At a nearby vendor he asked about the nearest library and was sent off with a written address, hurrying across roads and around small shops before finding the old stone building. Inside he dropped down at a computer and after checking no one was watching typed in Law's name, feeling a bit creepy for doing so.

Only one link, leading to a nearby hospital's website showed up and he clicked on it, it was a small bio about a general surgeon with work days and hours listed but not much else. He stared at it and then carefully wrote it down. Law would be in today but only for another two hours or so, he couldn't walk there so with a sigh and knowing he'll regret it he signed out and called for a cab.

* * *

The hospital, despite being nearby was still a large cab fare away and he forked over the very last of his money over to the driver and sighed, no dinner on the way home either. He entered the hospital, spotting a receptionist desk nearby and carefully walked up.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for-"She shook her head, indicating a sign nearby the desk and turning back to her phone. He glanced at it, a few doctor names were listed but he spotted Law's right away and decided to head to the man's office instead of waiting around.

On the ride up, he was aware he might run into trouble, after all he didn't have an appointment and Law might not be in but he'd worry about that later. He had all day, he could wait. The elevator door opened to a crowded hall and he squeezed by rushing doctors toward the offices in back, searching.

He found it, near the very back with the lights shut off and clearly no one inside. He sighed, leaned against the door and waited. It was almost lunch time, and considering how unfriendly Law was he bet the man would come back to eat lunch here instead of in the cafeteria.

Determined, he sat down in front of the door, arms crossed and waiting. A few doctors came and went from the elevators and one lady stopped by to ask him if he needed help but he told her no and she hurried off into her own office. His butt was going numb and he kept checking his phone, the website had indicated that this was the right time so where was the guy?

He was just about to get up and ask the lady, who'd gone into her office if she had any idea of where law might be but stopped as the doors opened and the man stepped out, white coat instead of black and wearing glasses.

They stared at each other for a moment but Law did not greet him and instead rushed past him, unlocking the office door and shoving him inside before closing it.

"Hey-"He started to say, tried to say but Law turned away from him and locked the door, started to move towards him. He backed up automatically but the man kept coming towards him and he felt his back meet the wall.

"Are you following me?" There was ice and hate in Law's voice and surprised he threw his hands up in defense.

"No, no I'm-"

"Did someone send you?"

"No-I no, I was looking for you. I swear!" The man was so close to him now, he felt cornered.

"Stand there." Law demanded.

"Hey what-"His voice got stuck in his throat when he felt hands on him. He moved to smack the hands away but Law grabbed his hands and expertly pinned them up above his head and turned him around. Furious he clenched his fists ready to break free and punch the taller man when he realized he was being patted down. Law let go of him, now looking at his backpack.

"Open it." Surprised, he did, not even getting angry at the request. Law dug in it and then satisfied gestured for him to zip it back. He did, but not before staring at Law in shock.

"I'm not here to hurt you or anything."

"It's certainly not normal to show up at a stranger's work office unless you needed something."

"I just looked you up I didn't-"

"Why are you here?" Tired at being hit with questions he tossed his bag onto the couch before glaring at the other man.

"If you'd let me talk I'll tell you." Law glared at him, slowly taking a seat behind the desk. Matching the stare he sat down in the chair in front of the desk, leaned forward. "I'm here to talk about the game."

"Stuck again?"

"I bet you are too." A dark look crossed the man's face and satisfied he continued. "I know what my third one is, but I thought I'd ask for help and I'd help you get your fifth one or whatever." Law didn't respond, just stopped staring at him and sighed.

"I don't have my third one either." He stared, watching the surgeon remove the glasses and rub a tired hand over equally tired eyes. "I've been too busy and my clue has been useless. Why you came to me for help makes no sense. You're better off on your own."

"I know, but I just thought..." Law stared at him between tattooed fingers but didn't say anything. "I know what it is, but I don't even know where it is. If these clues are made for us it's not adding up and ya know I'm sorry for barging in on you I thought some help, any kind would have been good." He made to stand but Law grabbed his arm, forcing him to stay seated.

"Understand this, I intend to win this game myself but I do owe you."

"You do?"

"You helped me find the second one and I'm not the type to forget it. Helping you back was going to be a one-time thing but it's clear to me that many of the others have joined forces or are blatantly cheating."

"So you just want to bail after helping me?"

"No I want to continue to work together, it'll be easier with two people and honestly I think it's the smartest option right now considering things." For once he felt he couldn't argue that but frowned, looking unsure at the dark man.

"How exactly can you even trust me? And why should I trust you?" Law sighed.

"Considering how stuck you got I don't think you're up for any backstabbing and I'm not a fan of it myself." He had thought of that, working more with other people but he was unsure.

"And if I just quit?" Law gave him a piercing stare and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"I was hoping you wouldn't but I'm not against the idea of throwing in some money if you want it." He stared at Law.

"I don't want money." He bit out, feeling a rise of anger. Law shrugged.

"You need it but don't want it then?" Still feeling angry he glared back at him.

"I don't want to be paid for helping out." He said carefully, trying to keep his anger in check. "I'll be getting money in the end anyway, I don't need a handout."

"Then name a price."

"That's not the point! I can't get any further in this game on my own and I don't know, I came here to get some help not expecting this, I'm just not sure." Law merely hummed at him. They fell into silence and he looked away, over the bland walls and medical cabinets. He had to go back to work tomorrow, he had to find a way back home and then get some sleep and wake up and shift through bills and call Ace and…

He looked back at Law, looked the man over. The surgeon was strange, dark and mysterious and a bit untrustworthy but he didn't seem the type to go around betraying people. He found himself staring at the surgeons hands, the words death seemed out of place on such a man and he stared at something that sparkled on one hand, something pink. He tried to see it better but it was hidden behind Law's other hand and a new thought, something better than money or help made its way into his mind.

"You want a deal." He said slowly, not looking away from Law's hands.

"Something like that, I help you out and you help me to the second part after that we go alone."

"You'll give me anything?"

"Within reason."

"My brother's in the hospital. He's got some bad burns and…and he needs surgery on his back and legs. He's gotten some basic treatment but he needs the full thing or he's…" He trailed off, feeling the pain from before coming back. "I can't, we can't afford any of it. Just able to pay off his hospital bills but we can't-"

"Done." He stared at him shock.

"Wait-"

"It's done. It'll be a while before he can go home but doing this I think equals your help, for the first part at least." He nodded dumbly, still in shock but caught himself.

"That's too much-"

"Like I said the help is what I need. I don't trust the others and I want more than just to win. After that we're even and you can go back to regularly competing. Fair?"

Law held out a hand, the ring on it glinting oddly in the light. He shook it, Law's hand felt smooth and cool and the ring, pink and shining scrapped against his hand. He glanced back at Law's face, letting go of the man's hand and noticing the dark smile that had appeared.

"I'll begin the paperwork for your brother right away." Law said, smile still in place as the man turned to the computer, switching it on.

"Okay." He said quietly, suddenly unsure and now fully aware of how alone they were. He glanced at the man's hands again, the ring still gleaming bright under the light as Law's hands moved easily over the keyboard. The ring and the word death slowly burning into his mind, sinking somewhere into the back of his memory.


	4. Did you think this would be easy?

After shaking hands, he slumped back into his seat, thinking the deal over again but still feeling unsure about it.

"Is this really fair?"

"Do you want more?"

"I mean to you. I'm not…great at riddles and I don't think I'll help you much."

"That's not entirely true." At that Law flipped a black card onto the desk. "Seems our clues have some reference to one another, so having you on my side will help me find the rest." He picked up the card, flipping it over and reading it slowly.

 _This guide needs help and you're on a mission._

 _Follow carefully, make sure to listen._

"Wait is this me? So you would have contacted me at some point!"

"I would have, just not have gotten around to it."

"So this whole deal was going to happen anyway."

"Yes, most likely." He sat back, staring at the dark man who had turned to the computer on the desk, typing away something. "You're sneaky."

"I prefer prepared."

"So what do I do now?" Law did not look up from the screen.

When that didn't get a response he dug in his pocket pulling his second card out and placing it on the desk. The man looked surprised at seeing the second card but slowly picked it up. He hoped it would serve a good enough peace offering. After a moment Law pushed the card back, no longer looking guarded as before.

"What is it?"

"I'm pretty sure it's a locket. I think maybe it's in it or something."

"Maybe?"

"I don't know. I don't know any rich men personally and I don't know anyone wearing lockets." He leaned back in his chair, rubbing at his face. "I don't get it."

"Try to think back. Maybe it was someone in passing. Anyone wearing a necklace." He sighed and looked at Law.

"I don't know! I tried to remember, but all I know is that one guy wearing a cross, that jerk with a gold necklace and I guess you, are you wearing anything?"

"What guy with a gold necklace?"

"I dunno, big guy, really nasty and rude he was there at the reading way in the back?"

"Bad hairstyle and rich clothes?"

"Yes."

"That was Charloss Saint. Comes from one of the richest and biggest families."

"Sounds about right." Law turned back to the computer typing in something now. He sighed and leaned back in his chair more, glancing around the office once more. It was rather bare now that he looked at it, no personal pictures, no idea of interests or sports. He wondered about earlier too, about showing up here and being interrogated like that. Law stopped typing and turned the screen toward him.

"This man?" He looked back. It was the same angry and dumpy looking man before but with a different suit and awful hair. He glanced down at where the man's neck was and noticed right away the same gold necklace, though this one had a small gold locket on it with a bit of green on the front.

"That's him! Holy shit he's wearing a locket."

"He wears it all the time it seems, it's in all of his photos."

"You found it, perfect oh wait…" He sat back down, now that he knew where it was he hadn't thought of how to get to it. Law clicked through a few more photos and he noticed the man's odd family in some of them. He'd heard of some of these, his grandpa always complained about how horrible they were and now he suddenly felt like it was going to be impossible to even see it. The family didn't look the type to be kind and helpful.

"You're aware that the only way you can even get that is by stealing right?" He wasn't surprised at that, figured it was going to most likely happen that way. At least he'd have help with it; it was easier to steal with help rather than alone.

"Yeah their family looks nasty and mean." A hint of a smirk appeared on the other man's face before it disappeared.

"That's putting it lightly."

"I know I gotta steal it. I just need help with it." Law nodded, pulling out some paper and scribbling something down and passing it back over to him. He looked at it, three names were written on them, Ocean's Bay, Seagull's Rest and Orange Sunset Hotel.

"They own these three hotels, and it seems they stay there in them when they come to Raftel. They are in town right now actually it seems, business trips."

"So then we'll go."

"Not yet." He looked up at that.

"They might not be here again-"

"It's too soon right now. We need him to be alone not with family and besides even though you know where they are, how exactly do you plan to steal it off him?" He grew quiet, frowning.

"I- I just only have the rest of today I won't be off again for a while."

"Then you'll have to just act when its best." At that Law pushed the paper back along with a pen. "Put your number down, I'll keep an eye on Charloss."

"But I won't-"

"If I call you then he's here again." They stared at each but he scribbled down his number and passed it back. Law had slipped him another paper; this one with what he assumed was the doctor's number.

"I'll try to get back. If not I-"

"You'll come up with some excuse for your boss; you got this far doing so right?" He didn't reply to that, just sighed and Law gave him an odd look. "Are you really that busy?"

"You know I don't even have money to get back home." He joked and he stood, going for his backpack. "I'm going to have to walk back or hitchhike at least I'll have plenty of time to get back if I leave now." Law had stood up, removing the white coat and hanging it up.

"I'll take you back."

"It's a two hour drive."

"And a five hour walk."

"Do you normally drive strangers places you don't know about?" Law smirked at him.

"You're not a stranger now."

* * *

The ride was mostly silent; with him buckled into a sleek seat he had been kind of speechless since seeing the car. It wasn't anything fancy but it was worlds nicer than his own and any car he had seen and so he had buckled himself into the front seat and they had left the hospital.

He had stared out the window, occasionally listening to the radio that talked of the weather now and then and something that happened in the news. He pointed to the turn off they needed to take and once they approached his town noticed the look Law gave him.

"I see why you're schedule is so busy." He didn't answer that and ignored the second look he was given as they turned down his road. They pulled up at the end of his long drive way but he motioned for Law to stop there.

"I'm good here."

"Wait. What are your work hours exactly?" He hesitated, hand on the door handle.

"I work from six to five why?"

"I'll try to call you when you're not working. Just wait for it." He got out, only glancing back before heading down the driveway. He noticed the car not leaving till he got to his front door and he couldn't help but a smile a bit at that.

* * *

"So what do you think, should we get balloons or not?" Usopp asked, buckling up and starting the car. Luffy didn't respond, he was checking his phone once again and put it away. "Dude, balloons, tacky or classy?"

"I think they are fine." He said, wondering if he should change his phone from vibrate to ringing but Usopp frowned at him.

"I know this isn't important, but I think balloons might make or break this wedding."

"I think balloons are fine, you guys like balloons so go with them." He heard Usopp sigh and mutter about types and colors before giving up. The car pulled out and away from the ship yard and they were quickly on the main road, heading towards their local hospital.

"Well at least you're going to see Ace today." He didn't reply to that, just stared out the window, figting the knot in his stomach. Three days since he'd been dropped off by Law and not a phone call or anything. He hadn't told Garp or Chopper about it but they had noticed how impatient he'd been lately. Usopp pulled up at the entrance and gestured for him to get out. "I'll go park, go on in." He got out, knowing exactly what floor and room number. He had it memorized already and sighed when approaching the closed door. He gave a light knock.

"C'mon in, I'm decent." Ace called back and he opened the door giving his oldest brother a smile.

"Hey Ace."

"Look who decided to show up!" Ace joked and waved him over. He stepped in, noticing the new flowers and get well cards decorating the window and tables.

"Usopp came with-"

"That's even better!" He stepped closer to the bed and looked down at his brother. Ace was thinned considerably and paler than usual, his brother's tan skin having a sicker duller gleam to it. He took Ace's hand, feeling how much colder and smaller it was and he fought back the rush of pain that always accompanied him when he visited.

"You look great today." He lied, feeling guilt. Ace chuckled, grasped his hand back and squeezed.

"Soon I'll be strong enough to kick your butt back into gear." The squeeze felt much weaker and he let go, taking a step back and smiling.

"Maybe, I don't know I've gotten way stronger since you've last seen me."

"I can tell! But that won't help you when I get ahold of ya." They shared a grin and the door opened behind them as Usopp hurried in, carrying a small bag in with him.

"Ace! You looking good man brought you a little something, from Kya." He drifted over to the window, letting his brother marvel over something Kya had baked recently and stared out the window. It was the same old view of a dreary parking lot and dreary old crumbling buildings around it. Ace must have said something to him because he heard a louder shout and turned to see Ace smirking.

"What?"

"Are you even here today Luffy? I asked you a question like three times dude."

"Yeah sorry just thinking."

"Whoa should I be worried?" He lightly slapped his brother on the shoulder for that and Usopp grinned, taking the nearby chair to sit in.

"He's been thinking a lot lately, bout that game or something." Ace gave a nod but Luffy frowned at his friend.

"I haven't been thinking that much about it." He lied and then turned to look at Ace who was still grinning.

"Really then? So I guess you were just thinking about something else instead of your poor older brother." He rolled his eyes at that and Usopp started chuckling. A nurse came in, quietly checked the machine nearby and then left. Usopp got up then, looking significantly at Ace before heading to the door.

"Well I better call Kya really quick, let you two talk then." And his friend was gone, he looked at Ace then, curious but Ace didn't say anything just looked at him, smile gone.

"I've been calling for you; everyone's told me you've been busy for work."

"I have." He didn't like being alone now, wished Usopp hadn't purposely left but he stood there, crossing his arms from the cold of the hospital room and not looking at his brother.

"We need to talk about this soon Luffy."

"We already did."

"We need to talk about what we're going to do."

"There's nothing to talk about!" Ace looked at him wide-eyed and he lowered his voice. "We've already talked; everyone is fine with you staying here. We'll have the money soon." He remembered his deal with Law and felt the pain lessen somewhat. He couldn't tell him yet, not just yet.

"I don't want to do this anymore."

"Don't say that." He wanted to say something but held back. His brother was a notorious worrier he didn't need to stress this out even more so.

"I don't want to Luffy. With Sabo gone-" He turned away, moving towards the door. "Luffy, wait! Please, look I'll stop okay? I won't talk about it just don't go yet okay? I haven't seen you in months." He sighed and turned back looking at Ace's clearly pained face. "Can we have dinner today? At least?"

"Only if you eat it this time." He said, bitter and angry and not wanting to be here anymore. Ace grew quiet and nodded and he stepped closer to the bed, unable to help it, he hugged his brother, held the weaker body closer and ignored the pain that swelled in his chest when doing so. Ace rubbed his back, soothingly like when they were children and he held tightly to his brother. For once things might just turn around; he just had to tell a few lies today.

* * *

His ride home had been silent and awkward. He hadn't spoken much with Garp when he got in, knew his grandpa never asked about his visits and quietly patted Chopper on the head but mainly went to his room to lie down and cry. With Sabo gone things were far harder than it needed to be, he was glad he wasn't alone but this got to be too much and on days like this he'd rather be alone then let the others see him. He hated being weak. There was a light knock on his door and heard Garp shuffling around outside it.

"Left ya some cake in the kitchen. It's your favorite."

"Thanks, I'll eat it later." He said dully, keeping his voice low enough so the old man couldn't tell he'd been crying. He heard some more awkward shuffling before Garp left and he rolled over and buried his face in his pillow, only raising up to check his phone. No calls, frustrated he tossed it aside and pulled up his blanket. Not looking forward to work tomorrow at all.

* * *

The next day he found he was busy stripping paint off some old life boats and he groaned before settling into it, his cry from the night before left his eyes sore and he rubbed at them often. Usopp hadn't spoken with him today, mainly left him alone and he appreciated it but wished he'd have the day off instead of work. The work was so boring he thought about the clues he had, about the rich man who probably had enough money to buy whole islands. He angrily scrapped at the paint, feeling tears prickling at the corners of his eyes again but ignored it, he was alone no one could see him.

A rich guy like that could buy islands and hospitals and even pay for simple surgeries, he thought bitterly, scrapping harder at a tough patch of paint. The idea of losing his one chance at earning some money burned him so much he hadn't watched what he was doing and the scraper slipped, sliding and slicing his other hand. He dropped it, swearing and carefully inspecting it when he felt a vibration in his pocket. He answered quickly, ignoring the bleeding.

"Hello?"

"It's me, where are you?" He gripped the phone tightly, his left hand bleeding and throbbing.

"It's three I'm at work what-"

"You got the day off. Come to the front and I'll get you."

"What-"He heard a dial tone and stared at his phone, lost. He replaced his phone in the pocket and the small intercom nearby crackled.

"D. Luffy to the front office please." He stared in shock before slowly getting up, only remembering to wipe his hand clean on one of the old rags before heading to the main office. He waited around, nodding now and then to others who passed through and stood near the window.

He looked on in surprise as Law's car did drive up and he went to ask but Law motioned for him to get in first and he did, slamming the door shut and then staring at the other man.

"How did-"

"I mentioned your brother was having trouble and they let you off." Stunned he slowly put on his seat belt, feeling them pull out of the shipyard. Law glanced at his bleeding hand didn't ask, just sped up and he was grateful the man didn't say anything. The radio station warned of a coming rainstorm but he paid no attention to it, now looking at his cut and still bleeding hand.

"There's a small first aid kit in the back." He reached behind the seat finding it and popping it open in his lap, sifting through the supplies.

"Did you find him?"

"Yeah he's alone too in one of them, the Ocean Bay Hotel. Seems he's the only one in his family in the game, he's been there for three days now and I've been told he leaves tomorrow."

"Why didn't you call me then?"

"He wasn't alone then, his family was with him. He'll be alone tonight." He finished wrapping his hand and replaced the kit.

"Okay so how're we gonna do it? We gonna rush him?"

"No, I paid a worker to get me a copy of his key card. We're just going to go in when he's left the room. We'll have to wait but I managed to get us a room the same floor."

"Really? But you said he wears it all the time."

"He wears it for pictures I said. Seems he takes it off otherwise."

"Okay. We just have to wait right?" Law nodded he sat back thinking hard on the plan. They stopped by his home where he rushed in and packed an overnight bag, leaving a note for Garp and ran back out, his hand still hurting from earlier.

They mainly listened to the news, normally he'd ask to hear music but he was busy thinking on getting the necklace. He didn't want to get in trouble, couldn't deal with police again not since the last time. He hoped as they approached the main highway to the city that things would work out for him, hoped they'd get his clue easily.

It was a long drive but they finally pulled up in view of the hotel. It was a beautiful, peachy orange color mimicking the sunset and so high he had to crane his neck to see the top. There was valet parking and numerous people milling in the lobby from what he could see through the front windows. Law drove them behind the building, parking in the back and turning the engine off.

"When we go in, act like you've been before. Don't stand out." He nodded climbing out and following Law. Once inside they felt the full blast of cool air and a few people made way for them. Law headed straight toward the counter, checked them in and they walked toward the elevator and waited until they were in before pressing for the twelfth floor. He wanted to ask but Law shot him a look and he stayed quiet. With a ding they arrived and stepped out, and Law motioned for him to follow heading down the hall.

"He's in room 1203 we're in 1205." Law whispered and he nodded following close behind. They entered room 1205, aware they were right across from 1203 and he walked in, gaping at the room. It was certainly one of the biggest and fanciest hotel rooms he'd ever been in. The walls were loaded with sunset styled decorations and large matching twin beds. He stopped just in front of the painting in between them. It was a painting of a ship, heading out in the dark of the night and sea. He felt something, old and fearful stir inside his mind and he looked away from the painting. The room, aside from that was otherwise beautiful and peaceful.

"So, are you going to tell me how you got this room?"

"Money." Law said dryly and he rolled his eyes.

"I mean, what, did you just wait around until an opening happened?"

"Yes." He shook his head.

"So how do we know when he leaves?" He stopped as they both heard a door open faintly down the hall. Law smirked.

"Despite how nice this is, they didn't invest in sound proof doors. We're right across we'll hear when he leaves." Luffy set his bags on one of the beds and stared at their door.

"Yeah but there was no need to rent a room, we'll be in and out yeah?"

"No, it's suspicious to just check out so soon we'll be staying the whole night and leaving in the morning."

"Wait, seriously?" He remembered what was so odd about the hall when they got off the elevator. "Is that why this floor doesn't have a camera on it?"

"It seems that this hotel's…nasty owners tend to do illegal business up on the top floors. Drugs, parties the usual. For now it'll serve us as no one will know we went into his room." He gave a grin.

"So basically we're set?"

"We just have to wait." He nodded pleased and fell back onto his bed, sighing as he sank into the plushness of the mattress. This would be the easiest thing he'd ever stolen and he was glad they wouldn't have to do anything to complex. However, he didn't relax to long as he suddenly remembered something he hadn't planned for.

"Oh shit, I have work tomorrow."

"Call in, ask for tomorrow off."

"I can't-it's not that easy."

"Luffy." He sighed already taking out his phone. He knew this was too important, didn't mean it would be pleasant having to beg for a day off.

"I know, I know, but you better let me into the mini bar later." He scrolled down to his boss's number, groaned and hit dial. Paulie picked up instantly.

"What the hell do you think you're doing calling me at this time?"

"Paulie I-"

"Don't you tell me you got some kinda excuse and can't come in tomorrow. The answer is no, be in at your time or you're fired!" He pulled the phone back a bit from his ear and saw Law clearly looking entertained at all this. He scowled at the taller man.

"Paulie it's important-"

"No it aint, I swear I'll give Garp a call and he'll-"

"It's about Ace's surgery." He said quickly and he heard Paulie cough in surprise on the other end, Law had moved over quickly, giving him a suspicious look. "Well it's about some paperwork involving it, if I, if this deal goes through then he'll get it." He said carefully aware Law was listening carefully.

"Deal? What kinda deal? Where are you?" Luffy hesitated; knowing Law heard that and Law motioned for him to continue.

"Well uh I've found a way to pay for it, don't worry I'm staying at a cool hotel!" He said cheerfully, trying to make it sound normal but he could hear Paulie mumbling. "Paulie?"

"Why at a hotel?"

"It's just uh convenient for the paperwork." At that Law took phone from him and he protested but Law held him back.

"Hello, this is Trafalgar Law. I will be the main surgeon for Ace's treatment." He heard Paulie making some kind of stumbling sound.

"Oh uh is that so?"

"Yes, we are finishing the paper up. I'm afraid however since your employee is a good deal away from work that he may need a day or two off."

"Uh yeah okay, that's I mean, for Ace sure. Wait; are you two in this hotel together?"

"Yes." And with that, he handed the phone back. Luffy quickly apologized but he could hear Paulie making odd confused sounds.

"Listen this is kind of um a surprise. For Ace. So please don't tell him Paulie." Paulie made some strange noise in agreement and the man grunted out that he had two days off but nothing more and hung up. As soon as he did he tossed his phone at Law who caught it easily. "The hell did you talk to him for!"

"He was going to pry. The less anyone knows about this deal the better."

"Well ask next time."

"Considering how you treat your phone, there may not be a next time if it breaks." He tossed a pillow this time which was caught and tossed back at his face. He groaned and fell back, not removing the pillow. Law walked away and he could hear the TV being turned on.

"That minibar better be worth it." He said, muffled under the pillow.

* * *

Hours passed, it had grown dark outside and bored he rolled around off his bed and moved into the small resting area where Law sat. He'd raided a good bit of the minibar, didn't touch the alcohol as he felt getting drunk now would be a bad idea and he wasn't much of a drinker anyway. He was told not to leave in case Charloss left so he didn't even get to really explore.

He was bored. He sat down on the couch beside Law, snickering when the man scooted further back from him.

"So do you think he'll leave tonight or…?" He trailed off, waiting. Law shrugged, stretching out long legs onto the foot rest in front of them.

"He'll leave. He's been going down to the bar every night he's been here. Since he usually has things delivered to him whatever he gets down there must be important for him to leave."

"How long's he usually gone?"

"Hours." He sat back, staring at the TV. Some weather man was droning on about a large storm coming up and he sighed again. Law got up, forfeiting the remote and he turned it quickly to cartoons, feeling somewhat less bored now. He heard the man digging in their bags and he looked over in time to see that Law had removed his leather gloves again, that odd ring sparkling under the light.

"Are you married or something?" Law's shoulders stiffened for a moment before relaxing, he couldn't help but feel that he may have touched a sore spot.

"I'm engaged." Law said quietly, Luffy raised a brow.

"Uh congrats to you and your um partner. Got a friend who's getting married soon too." Law didn't say anything and he awkwardly scratched his head, still looking at the ring. He was going to say something; the silence was starting to feel weird when they both heard it at once, the door opening across the way. They both looked at each other and waited until the heavy footsteps disappeared before they both moved to the door, Law quickly putting gloves back on and shoving Luffy a pair.

They stepped out into the hallway. The elevator was in use and Law quickly moved to Charloss's door.

They stopped in front of the door but Law froze and so did he, glancing around worriedly.

"What's wrong?" He whispered. Law didn't respond, just reached out and pushed the door open. He stared in shock as it easily swung open. He noticed Law looking worried and before he could ask, was grabbed and pulled in quickly and the door shut behind them. "What the hell-"

"Something's not right." They both stood in the small living room area. He moved so that he wasn't behind Law and noticed right away the trash and mess everywhere.

"Other than the mess what's not right?"

"The door was left open."

"You said he wouldn't be in, it's fine he might not have closed it all the way."

"Maybe. Start looking around."

He wanted to ask what else was off but Law was looking in one of the bedrooms and he did as he was told, peeking into the bathroom. The bathroom was a mess as well and he wrinkled his nose in disgust at the trash and smell before backing out. Law had moved past him to the back of the room and he stepped over some trash to a closed door in back. The layout of the room was identical save for the decorations which showed more nighttime views and the single bed in back and he stepped around trash to get at the door.

He opened in but found it to be a closet and shut it, stepping over used dishes and magazines before finding himself in the bedroom area where Law stood in front of one of the windows. Luffy glanced around the room, nothing gold or otherwise was seen.

He joined Law at the window and looked down. He couldn't see Law's car but he could see a small group of people smoking and milling about.

"Alright then I'll look in here, you can search the front." He said simply, turning to look at the room again. "He had to have taken it off or something, maybe it's in a hotel safe? They have that right?" Law did not answer him, looking lost in thought and he shook his head, leaving the surgeon to think. He turned to move from the window, stepped on something painful and tripped.

"Fuck!" He shouted, reaching for the window sill but grabbing Law's arm instead and they both toppled together onto the dirty floor, the air pushed out of him. "Sorry." He said, trying to get back up, pushing at the taller man's body. "Get off please you're heavy." Law didn't move and he looked up at the man's face. "What is it?" Law pointed, and he looked and nearly screamed in surprise at the person hidden under the bed.

They both moved then, backing away from each other and the bed. He held in the scream but stared back at the glassy eyes still staring at him.

"It's Charloss." Law said but Luffy felt sick and felt sicker still when Law reached out and touched Charloss's arm, checking his pulse. "He's dead." He got up then stumbling to the bathroom sink where he clung onto it until the nausea and dizziness passed.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hey guys sorry for the very late update here. As you can tell I got tangled up but I hope to be updating all of these very soon. This one is a bit longer to make up for that wait, and thanks for the reviews so far! I read them all and its very encouraging.**


	5. A Broken Line and a Lost Catch

When he finally managed to feel a bit more stable on his feet he got up and returned to the bedroom to find that Law had pulled Charloss's body fully out from under the bed and was now inspecting it.

"What are you doing?" He stuttered, staring at the knife wounds in the man's body. The blood leaving drag marks on the carpet and he could see a much larger puddle of it under the bed.

"Checking for the locket, but he's not wearing it." He dropped down to his knees, feeling weak but taking a closer look himself. The knife wounds were large and he counted about seven of them, he dragged his eyes up to the man's thick neck. There was no gold in sight. He sat back in disbelief and then got angry.

"I'm going to get in so much trouble aren't I?"

"We're not getting in trouble." Law stated but Luffy shook his head. Law continued to empty the man's pockets out, lying whatever he found out to the side. Luffy glanced at it, nothing but a wallet and some keys as well as a small pack of cigarettes.

"I'm so screwed."

"We're not getting in trouble."

"How can you say that? We're in his room, he's dead and we're gonna get arrested for this."

"We didn't do anything wrong. We're not getting in trouble." He wanted to argue it but Law was getting up then, looking around the room.

"We have to call the police."

"In a bit. If we're going to take his locket we need to get it now."

"It'll take us hours to search through this mess." He was surprised at himself, here he was still determined to get a damn locket and there was a dead body right beside them. Law looked unusually calm as well.

"Good thing we don't have to worry about him coming back. Take the front room and kitchen. I'll search back here and the bathroom." What protest he had he dropped, not wanting to be in there with a corpse. He got up stared at Law and then went into the living room, glancing around and kicking trash out of the way. Dirty magazines, shopping catalogues and excess garbage spilled from the kitchen and he kicked it aside, trying to hold back his disgust and worry. The fridge was crammed full of food that was mainly untouched and the large take-out garbage told him that Charloss probably ordered everything rather than cook.

He opened cabinets, checked the cluttered counters and then finally inspected the living room. Aside from a few porn tapes and questionable crusted over dishes he found nothing. He opened all cabinets under the TV checked the floor and the table and shook loose the garbage all around him. Nothing. He was digging in couch cushions and under crevices, hoping to find something but he was turning up more garbage than he imagined.

"God he was filthy."

"I agree." He jumped a little at Law's voice and dropped what dirty clothing he had picked up. Law had moved back out to the front but was holding a small metal box in his gloved hands.

"What's that?"

"A lockbox." Hopeful he shoved some garbage off the coffee table and Law set the box down on it. "I have some tools, couldn't find a key."

"That's fine." He raised an eyebrow when Law turned away from him. There was a small zipping sound and he watched as Law opened up the long black coat and reached down, grasping a pant leg and rolling it up. There was an array of black items strapped to the man's leg and his eyes widened at it, especially when Law removed two small tools from there. "Gee what else you got in there?" Law ignored his comment and sat down in front of the box, beginning to work at the lock.

He watched him for a moment before Law made a frustrated sound and removed a glove to better grip one of the tools. He stared at the tattoos on the man's hand again but also at the slender ring on the man's finger, this time he could see that a heart shaped pink diamond sat in the center was what made it shine.

After some fiddling the lock opened and Law flipped the top open. He leaned in to look. There was a stack of DVDs filling one corner of the box that from the titles alone he could tell were probably more porn the rest of the box held papers and a few clipped wads of bills. No locket. He groaned and sank back on the couch, avoiding any trash that was left there.

"No locket." Law was flipping through the pages but sighed as well.

"Someone must have taken it."

"Why?"

"Maybe they had a clue that asked for it as well." Suddenly a horrible thought occurred to him.

"Do you think the same guy who took it was the one who stabbed him?"

"I don't think, I bet that's what happened. Nothing else was taken and I didn't even see a knife laying around." They said nothing else for a moment; he rubbed at his face trying to think now what to do. They would have to call the police, then they'd probably be brought in for questioning but he didn't doubt they'd arrest them on the spot. Two strangers in an otherwise private room, there was no way he could explain this and he got a headache just thinking on it.

"Take this." He looked up at the outstretched hand, the clip of wadded up bills held out to him.

"What the hell I don't-"

"Take it.' Law said firmly. He looked up at the piercing gaze and slowly took it but did not pocket it.

"Won't this look even worse when we call the police?" Law sighed at him.

"He's dead Luffy not a saint. A few bills missing aren't that big considering the thousands the killer left behind in the drugs in his room." Reluctantly he looked at the money. "It's small compensation for coming here at least."

"What now?"

"Now we're going to leave and put things back and pretend we were not here."

"But the guy-"

"Let's leave him, he'll be discovered soon." They shared a look and Luffy slowly put the money in his pocket.

"I don't-"

"We didn't kill anyone. We're not going to get in trouble but hanging around and calling the police will get us in trouble. Let's go." Hesitantly he stood the money in his pocket feeling heavy and he followed Law out. Back in their room, Law went to the small table by the window and dumped the box and its contents onto it. Luffy shut the door and locked it, worry gnawing at his stomach. It was true, they would definitely get in trouble by reporting it more than anything; he could overlook this, even if it was too risky. He did not want to deal with the police.

He joined Law at the table who was sifting through the papers, reading over them quickly.

"Why'd you take the box?"

"It might give us an idea of who killed him." He shifted on his feet, nervous and Law noticed and gestured for him to sit down. "Listen when I checked him, he'd been cold."

"But the door didn't open in forever."

"Exactly, either the guy was already in there or something big happened. It's not our business and I bet he had just left so he'll get caught. Eventually." He nodded, unsure but decided it was easier to imagine the police getting the guy than think about themselves getting arrested. Law handed him the DVDS and motioned for the TV.

"No way, this is obviously something gross."

"Maybe. People often hide things that way." He wanted to ask how Law knew that exactly but took them anyway; not liking the look the man gave him.

"Fine but you better get us food." The shock from before wearing off somewhat but he still looked nervously at their door. He set up the DVD player, inserted the first disc titled simply _One_ and hit play. A shaky camera angle revealed a few men sitting at a poker table, heavily smoking and betting, he could feel Law watching as well and moved so the other man could see it better.

He didn't recognize the men but it didn't matter. They talked of drug shipments and one man leaned forward in the smoke, a scar across the nose a large standout feature and the other men laughed at a proposal before the video ended. He popped it back out and took the second one, titled as _Two_ and put it in.

Another shady room, but this one was harder to see in. It was smoky and there were purple lights everywhere but he could see two people, talking quietly in the dark. He got a little closer but couldn't really see who they were, but he could hear what they were discussing. A man's pale hand reached out in the darkness and pushed a small bag of money towards the other person. He made a face, wondering if all of these were drug deals. They talked about some warehouse somewhere before the video gets cut off suddenly.

He picked up the last one; this one was titled with a name, _Wonder Windmill_. He put that one in and pressed play. This room was significantly brighter, there was a stage, clearly meant for strippers as a pole was right down the middle but there were no dancers, only two men who sat in front of the stage, one with wild styled hair and the other with longer hair. He couldn't' see them too well but their profiles stood out enough to tell who was talking.

"Turn it off." Law said coldly behind him and he did, feeling odd about it. Law was holding the papers and now slapped them onto the footrest.

"What're those?"

"Receipts and payments. A lot of it just goes with the DVDS." Luffy said nothing, took out the DVD replaced it, and began handing them back.

"What's wrong with the last one?"

"Just the same stuff, it's not important." Law took the DVDS and gave Luffy the phone. "Order food, nothing too greasy." And then Law left, taking a small laptop from the bags and he noticed the last DVD into the bathroom.

He lay still, wide awake and nervous. He was listening for someone to come down the hall and open Charloss's door and discover the body he knew it wasn't likely to happen and Law said it was best if they didn't find it until they left but he was nervous. He felt like he'd done wrong but wasn't sure of what exactly and the more he thought on it the worse he felt.

* * *

He rolled over, looking over at Law's bed. The tall man was breathing slowly, but he couldn't tell if he was awake or not.

"Law?" He asked quietly. The man didn't move but he did hear a sigh.

"What?"

"We did nothing wrong right?"

"Nothing worse than he did." At that Luffy frowned.

"I mean not calling the police right away." Law rolled over, facing him.

"Luffy the police wouldn't believe anything we'd say. I've had trouble with them and I bet you have to, do you really think they'd listen?" He thought back to the day the police had kicked the door down, how Ace was injured…he cleared his mind of that and stared back in the darkness.

"What did they do to you?" He asked, feeling the odd tension from before.

"Nothing. They did nothing for me." Law replied after a long time and Luffy turned away, finding that sleep was easier to come when he wasn't the only one who was scared.

* * *

The next morning was quiet, they ate a breakfast and after packing up and leaving, spared one last glance at room 1203 before they left for checkout, Luffy feeling all the cameras as they left the hotel and he still felt watched on the ride home.

They had slept in and he had wished they'd left earlier but it took several hours before they were in his hometown and it was late afternoon again, the traffic had been terribly backed up and he felt tired and confused the whole time. He shared a look with Law, aware that this deal seemed like a bad idea now but Law put his gloved hand on Luffy's shoulder.

"In two weeks' time I'll do the surgery." He nodded, feeling a bit numb but oddly relieved at hearing it. He put a hand on the door, ready to go, looked back at the tall man and they held a gaze for a moment longer than he should have and he got out. Law drove off once he opened his front door.

Sneaking back into his own house would have been easier if Garp hadn't fallen asleep in the recliner again and he jumped at the yell the old man let out as well as the lamp being shined on him.

"Aha! Where the fuck have you been?"

"I was-"

"And sneaking in like that, what have you been up to boy. Ya know I called you like five times right?" He felt his palms sweat, remembering the money and how he'd been driven home in mostly silence.

"I just, I had to go out." Garp gave him a mean stink eye and got up from the chair, towering over him, arms crossed.

"You never go out. Where were you really?" The old man demanded and Luffy was about to explain when Garp leaned in close and then jerked back. "Were you with someone?" He asked suspiciously.

"What?"

"You got someone's cologne on ya, you out on a date or something?" He felt himself nodding slowly before shaking his head.

"I was-I was at a bar."

"You don't drink."

"With a friend."

"I bet. I'm guessing you just headed back to this 'friend's' place right?" He stared at his grandpa, felt the lie coming out easily.

"We just talked."

"Right you ain't got to lie and sneak around me. You're old enough just don't ignore my calls like that, I don't care if you're in the middle of it, you had me worried." He felt his ears burn at that and he turned away from his grandpa, yanking off his work boots.

"I was busy." He snapped and he heard the old jerk chuckle.

"Busy hands I'm sure." He mumbled a few swears under his breath but stopped when he noticed Chopper, in pajamas standing in the hall and looking confused. Garp turned to look and sighed. "You alright boy?"

"Need some help with my homework." The little boy said, holding up a notebook. Garp shot Luffy a look before taking Chopper into the kitchen to help. He groaned and headed towards the bathroom, running a shower and emptying his pockets.

The large clips of bills he stared at, slowly thumbing through them. They had a small white residue on some of them and he counted it all slowly.

Ten thousand dollars that was more money than he'd ever touched. That was more than a hundred paychecks.

* * *

The next day he felt ill. He hadn't slept well and had to drag himself out of bed. Garp was sitting in the kitchen sipping coffee and raising an eyebrow at his ragged appearance.

"You look like you got hit by a truck."

"Thanks." He muttered reaching for the pot and pouring himself some. Garp said nothing more just scoffed and turned back to eating a biscuit. Luffy drank his coffee, remembering last night and the bills, now secured in his pants. He had to get rid of this money and fast. They left the house and Garp declined a ride stating Sengoku was coming by and he headed out grumpy and tired and feeling the money burning a hole in his pocket. He was pretending to go to work but the truth was he had some place else in mind and he turned the car around heading out to an old familiar road, turning down a small hidden one after some time. He drove for well over thirty minutes down this path until finally arriving there.

It was the old cottage, still damaged still badly burned on one side. He pulled up in front got out, checked to make sure no one was around and headed toward the pier that was just behind the house. He lay out there, staring at the clouds move quickly overhead, the guilt from before slowly disappeared as he remembered their conversation, he still felt nervous but it was different now.

Things were still looking up.

* * *

For a whole two weeks he kept to himself. The money was always in his pocket, too worried about leaving it at home. He checked the newspaper each day and aside from a small article mentioning a body was found in the hotel nothing showed up. He'd wake up, work furiously at his job and come home to a late dinner that he'd slowly eat and sleep that never came.

He was exhausted and Garp was asking more questions then he could answer and Chopper left him alone, not even saying much to him the past week. He felt guilty but at the same time stressed, he couldn't drag them into this he couldn't even mention it and he feared every night their door would be knocked down, just like before and police would spill inside and arrest him.

He groaned, leaning tiredly against the lifeboat he was cleaning. Usopp looked up at him from under the boat, brush held out questionably.

"You want to change spots dude? You looking like you're about to collapse." They did and he muttered thanks as he slid under the boat, prepared to clean the underside he thought back to Charloss, stuffed under the bed and grimaced. He scrubbed unsteadily at the boat, not really hearing what Usopp was talking about and suddenly feeling dizzy he laid on his back, letting the soapy water drip down onto him.

Law had told him not to worry, they didn't do anything wrong but he felt like they did. Even if the police already knew it didn't matter, not only that but all that and he found no locket and he doubted they'd have another opportunity like that again. His shirt was being soaked through now by the soapy water and he grunted, leaning up long enough to take his shirt off before falling back on the floor, raising his brush up to scrub.

Usopp made a comment on the boat they were cleaning but he didn't catch the joke and he felt too tired for jokes this early in the morning. After some time he heard another worker yell for Usopp and his friend hopped off the side of the boat and headed off. As soon as the door closed he laid back and shut his eyes.

He thought mainly of Ace, probably napping at this time, and Vivi probably leaving him a nutritious breakfast. Chopper was in school and Garp was working in the grocery store nearby, and he thought about Sabo, wondered if he came home today he'd find his missing brother out front. Perhaps it was the stress from the last few weeks or maybe he'd been too hard on himself but he began to cry, turning to the side and sobbing quietly so no one could hear. He missed Sabo and the cottage and the way things used to be and he knew that getting upset wouldn't help, but there was literally nothing to fight off, this wasn't like Chopper's bedtime stories.

He never cried at work, tried not to think about it but he did now and he felt so exhausted and worn out that at some point he didn't hear the door open but he jumped when it shut and promptly smacked his head hard on the boat. He grasped his forehead in pain, hissing and rolling back and forth under the boat, waiting for the sting to leave.

"I see you're working hard." Stunned he rolled over and noticed the same black boots and black coat from before. He pulled himself out carefully from under the boat and looked at Law, mouth agape and forehead stinging.

"What are you doing here?"

"Came to chat, your boss said it was fine since its close to your break anyway." Law stopped and looked him over. "Are you alright?"

"I-yeah hit my head hard." He wiped quickly at any tears that were left and straightened his messy hair a bit. Law looked questionably at him and flicked a glance down his chest before looking away. He felt his face flush some at the his own appearance, no shirt and tears and remembered his shirt was soaked and it wouldn't matter if he put it back on. He looked and felt like a mess.

"Do you have time to talk?"

"Y-yeah I get an hour for lunch at least."

"Good, I know where the locket was." Stunned he grabbed at Law's coat, poking at the pockets.

"Really? Let me see it!" Law slapped his hands away.

"I don't have it! It was abandoned in an amusement park and the police have it." He dropped his hands and groaned.

"Okay but I don't want to have to fight officers-"

"We're not. The man who took it clearly left it there for us." At that Law reached into a pocket and handed him a small news clipping. "From what I can see, the police are trying to keep Charloss's murder quiet." He took the clipping and read it over carefully.

 _Heartless Crime Cont. Police report that a missing item from the victim, has been recovered from the Raftel Boardwalk Park, it had been reported missing two weeks ago when the investigation first started. Lead investigators, Philips and Smoker comment that there appeared to be evidence on the item matching to the crime scene. Police say more details shall be released…_

He stopped reading it there and handed it back.

"So the bad guy took it and dumped it there?"

"Yes, it makes no sense if he needed it himself; he left it there on purpose to be found."

"Because he wants to throw off the police?"

"That or it's a trap." Luffy frowned and scratched at his head. He didn't understand this guy, running around stealing his clues and dumping thing in places. Maybe it was a trap, but he wasn't sure what for or why. He had nothing of value to hand over. Law cleared his throat and Luffy looked up to see him waving a small pamphlet.

"Regardless, we have nothing else to go on. We're going to the park." He took the pamphlet and couldn't help his excitement at seeing the pictures of the rides and food stands.

"We're really going to go there?"

"Yes. On your next day off we'll go."

"That's tomorrow."

"Alright. I'll come get you." At that Law turned, heading back toward the large wooden doors.

"Uh wait!" Law stopped, hand on the door.

"If you're worried about money-"

"Can I bring…Chopper?" Law mumbled something and shoved the door open, startling Paulie who was walking up with papers.

"Do what you want." Law finally answered, grabbing the notebooks Paulie dropped and shoving them back into his boss's hands. He wasn't aware he was grinning until he noticed Paulie staring at him and he turned away quickly, going back to work and feeling a bit less tired.

* * *

 **AN: Aha after some time an update! Thanks for the reviews and once this schoolwork is done I shall return.**


	6. Kept you waiting

After another terrible night of sleep, he got up early in the morning and saw Garp off for work before gently waking Chopper. The little boy grumbled and swatted his hands away but he persisted, grinning when Chopper finally rolled over and glared at him.

"Cmon Luffy, I'm a growing kid I need to sleep-"

"Oh that's too bad cause I thought you said you wanted to go to an amusement park once but-"At the words "amusement" and "park" Choppers eyes widened and he sat up quickly.

"Wait, are we going? Is it my birthday? Oh wait is this some kind of prank?" The small boy looked suspiciously at him and he laughed.

"Nope. You're playing hooky today." He watched Chopper practically fly off the bed toward their dresser.

"Yes!" The boy cried as he started tossing clothes around in search of something to wear. Luffy decided to give him a few minutes before heading out to the living room. With Garp gone, he didn't have to answer why Chopper wasn't going to school today, nor have the old man question Law's car when his partner did show up. After several minutes Chopper bounced out from the bedroom and practically crashed into him.

"Since we're playing hooky you can't tell Garp where we went today. Deal?"

"Yeah! Are we gonna go on a roller coaster? Can I have cotton candy?" The boy was bouncing on his feet, grinning at Luffy.

"We might, but uh Chopper one other thing." Luffy squatted down so that he was at eye level with his brother. "You really can't tell Garp about this but uh we're gonna be driven there by one of my friends."

"One of Ace's old friends?"

"No uh, the guy that helped me with the clues, remember him?" Chopper stopped bouncing and looked shocked.

"But grandpa said-"

"I know, I know but he's a good guy he just looks mean. Anyway he gets annoyed easily so um don't ask him too many questions."

"Okay."

"And don't talk too loud I guess."

"Okay."

"Maybe don't do that thing you do with the paper and the comb?"

"But you said that was funny!"

"That is funny, but I don't think he likes jokes."

"Okay." He patted his brother on the head and straightened, moving towards the door. His phone was buzzing in his pocket.

"Oh and he does look kinda weird but he's not that bad honestly so don't be that scared by him." He opened the door, froze upon making eye contact with Law and heard his brother let out a small noise of surprise. Law narrowed his eyes at Luffy then glanced at Chopper before slowly looking back at Luffy.

"I called you." He said simply and Luffy groaned. Not a good start.

* * *

The car ride over to the next county was mainly quiet and long, save for the radio and Chopper's occasional questions about things they passed by. The little boy had excitedly climbed into Law's car but mainly looked nervously at the man and Luffy didn't blame the boy, Law was just six feet of unapproachable scariness. Aside from that, he was feeling awkward himself, Law had rushed them out the door and into the car and then mumbled to him quietly about a plan but he wasn't sure what the plan was.

Or what they'd do with Chopper in the meantime. He didn't want a repeat of last time happening, finding some dead body and having to deal with that. He glanced out the window as they pulled into the parking lot and debated on telling Law he couldn't leave Chopper alone. Law parked in front of a peeling white fence and coughed catching their attention.

"Chopper?" Chopper jumped a little in his seat and turned to stare at Law in surprise. Luffy stopped staring out the window to stare at Law instead, confused.

"Y-yeah?"

"We're going to be looking for our clues, you can still have fun but you won't mind helping us right?" Again Luffy stared at Law, bewildered. Chopper gave a quick nod.

"I can help yeah! I can keep a look out, like undercover right?"

"Right, so stick with us and help us look. We're going to go on every ride." At that Chopper perked up and got out, slamming his door shut with a grin and running to peak over the old fence. Luffy watched him from his seat before looking back at Law.

"All of the rides?"

"Your clue said to take the locket for a ride. The person who took it dumped it here, trap or not they figured out your clue." He blinked a little at that; kind of angry someone else had figured it out.

"Okay but the plan?" Law unbuckled and opened his door.

"We'll talk more once we're in the park." He said, getting out of the car and Luffy got out as well, grabbing Chopper and swinging the boy up onto his shoulders. They followed the sidewalk, cheery music and lights off to the side of them as they followed Law to the ticket stand and into the park. He went to thank Law for the tickets but Law brushed it off and motioned for them to come close to where the prize games were. He set Chopper down and let the boy go to explore the game stands, letting him get a little distracted by the lights and sounds. He hadn't been to a park in years, and never once paid, it was always sneaking in with Ace and Sabo. They watched Chopper looking at a duck game before Law moved closer and opened the pamphlet to point at a nearby ride.

"We're going to have to ride all ten of them. We can split up and each start at different ends of the park."

"Okay, so we'll meet back at the food area yeah?" A small commotion was happening at a stand a little further away from them but he ignored the shouts of the kids.

"Yes, if you find anything or see anyone from the hearing-"Law stopped talking as the commotion grew louder, followed by an angry man's scream. They both turned to look and saw a man, dressed oddly and with a clown nose screaming at one of the attendants. He tried not to laugh at how ridiculous the man looked or the fact that the man was shouting something about a break before comically tripping on one of the stands legs and crashing into a bundle of balloons tied nearby. He ended up laughing anyway and heard Law sigh beside him.

"Never mind, we'll stick together. Go get your son and we'll move on." He stopped laughing long enough to snort at Law's suggestion.

"My son? He's my little brother, what makes you think he's my son?" Law raised an eyebrow and pointed at his hand. He blinked and looked down at it and noticed nothing aside from his old ring. "So?"

"When I saw you, you were not wearing a ring. It left a tan line." He remembered removing it from Jeremy's suggestion but forgot about that.

"Oh well I'm not married, he's really my brother but I mean we're adopted." Law shrugged and gestured for him to get Chopper. They moved slowly down the stands, Chopper wanting to try a few games out every now and then and they'd pause and Luffy would look around, trying to be vigilant but getting distracted by the smells of food. After some more wandering they made their way to the nearest ride, a roller coaster that had a short line in front. The cars slowly lined up, clacking amongst the rails and the line moved up, they got into a shared car and Chopper looked excited even if Law looked bored.

The ride itself wasn't bad, it had several loops and turns and at some point he was yelling alongside Chopper and a dozen others, laughing and yelling at Law to get into it, Law's response was to grip tighter onto the bar across their laps. The ride went a few more times and finally came to stop, where everyone stumbled off and out on the other side. He hadn't seen anything about clues and Law had found nothing as well so they followed after the crowd. Chopper pointed out another ride and after clamoring into the line they were quickly on it.

Rocking back and forth on a Viking ship turns out to be the easiest ride to throw up on. It was fun at first but then once they came to a stop both of them raced to the bathroom leaving Law outside to wait. Upon feeling a bit better, Luffy stumbled out and grumbled out an okay, when Law asked him if he was fine.

"I don't understand. You're a fisherman, you're always on a boat how did you get motion sickness?"

"That boat is made of lies, Law." He said, jabbing a finger at the swaying ship. Law rolled his eyes and after giving Chopper some water they continued. After that it was nothing but rides, they rode the teacups, and got sick again, the bumper cars where Luffy aggressively rammed each person out of the way and nearly knocking Chopper and Law out of the seat. A few more mini roller coasters of various speeds and heights save for the small one that Law could not ride due to his height.

They had just managed to dizzily get off the swing ride, thankfully not getting sick on that one and into the line for the mirror maze when Luffy couldn't take it anymore.

"Hey Law, not that I'm not having fun but can we eat after this?" He asked, glancing over at the man who was looking at the pamphlet again.

"Fine, the only rides after this are less likely to get you both sick again." Grinning, he gave Chopper a thumbs up and they eagerly moved forward in the line. The bored teen managing the front let Luffy in but stopped Chopper and Law.

"Sorry one at a time." Luffy shrugged and headed inside. It was darker than most funhouses but he could still see a little ahead of him. Mirrors were everywhere and he kept an eye out for anything that might stand out. He didn't think his clue was here, at least not in the maze, since it didn't seem like a ride but he wouldn't be surprised if something was here. He wandered forth, smacking into mirrors or into people who were also lost in the dark. He heard a familiar shout and noticed in one of the mirrors up ahead he spotted that clown from before. The man shouted something about shoes but the mirrors stopped reflecting him and Luffy frowned, wondering if the exit was just a little ways away now.

He was starving and he didn't like the idea of being on his own completely in here. Side-stepping around a woman's reflection he found himself in a rounded corner area, mirrors lined up and reflecting six of him. He paused in front of them, taking a moment to make silly faces and odd movements, from a certain angle it looked as if his limbs were stretching out.

"Let's go this way." He stopped goofing around to glance to his left. He heard Law, and after going back a little saw the man's reflection in a large vertical mirror. Law was holding Chopper and moving closer and rather easily through the mirrors.

"Guys! Over here!" He watched Law come to a stop in the mirror and he stumbled his way over to them. "This maze is hard actually, I tried to follow the smell of food out but I got stuck cause some guy was eating popcorn." He grinned at them once he managed to get around the large mirror but frowned seeing Chopper clinging to Law. "Bro? You alright?"

"He's getting tired." Law stated flatly and after some shifting, held out Chopper toward him. He took Chopper into his arms and noticed that his brother seemed a bit scared too but decided not to ask as it might embarrass the boy.

"Well thanks for carrying him; we'll be at the food court soon. Oh I saw that odd clown guy from earlier too!" He said cheerfully, trying to reassure Chopper. He stuck close to following Law, telling Chopper about the clown he'd heard and how he was pretty sure the guy fell again. By the time he could see the exit Chopper was giggling into his shoulder and sure enough they spotted a broken mirror that had been pulled outside and covered up.

"What a clumsy clown." Law added, shaking his head and leading them to the food court. At the food court he was kind of stunned when Law shoved cash into their hands and left to sit at a small table off to the side. He grinned at Chopper and the both of them raced down the food stalls, stopping to get multiple things before settling down at the small table Law was sitting at.

"You're not hungry?" Chopper shyly asked and Law gave a curt nod before opening the pamphlet and unfolding it onto a small bit of free space on the table.

"We're almost done, we need to do the Ferris wheel next and then-"

"Wait'e foun nothing?" Luffy interrupted, bits of food flying everywhere.

"Try that again." He swallowed and poked his fork at the pamphlet.

"We haven't found anything still?" Law sighed.

"Clearly not, there's been nothing odd or that fits the rest of the couplet. We have two rides left so I'm going to need the two of you to be more vigilant than before." They both gave him a nod and after a few more helpings of food, followed Law to the Ferris wheel line. This line was much shorter and save for a few couples, it moved rather quickly. They settled in their seats as it slowly began to turn upwards, Chopper resting on his knees and pressing his hands on the glass as he looked out.

"Whoa we're so high up! I can see a lot of things; hey Luffy look there's that weird clown again." He joined his brother in pressing his face up against the window. The clown guy before was stomping out of a boat ride and was soaking wet and shaking a soaked shoe at a security guard.

"This guy's so hilarious." As if on cue the clown tossed his shoe to the ground and began to enter a fist fight with the security guard. He and Chopper both broke out into hysterical laughter as more security guards jumped in that even Law leaned over to look. "Oh wow they are actually cuffing him."

"He looks like he fell in on one of the rides." Law commented. Chopper was still giggling and the wheel came to a stop, the cart shaking gently. Luffy looked away, the clown guy was already disappearing and he turned in his seat to look out on the other side. He could see the game stalls from here and he glanced over each ride they'd taken before stopping at the squat covered one in the corner.

"Is that the next one?" He asked Law.

"Yes, I'm not seeing anything else up here. Or any type of place to hide a card." Luffy frowned and pressed his face closer to the glass. He could see that the entrance to the ride was dark that seemed like a good place to hide something. The wheel took a few more turns before finally they were let out. Luffy checked his phone as they made their way into the line; there were no messages from Garp and aside from a small text from Usopp about dinner there wasn't anything new. It was starting to get later in the day, after this ride they would need to head back, he doubted Law was able to stay out that late and it would be suspicious if they came home late. As the line moved up he spotted a small sign displaying a water symbol and felt relieved that it was a water ride at least, it was getting hotter and he could use something nice and cool. His relief sank upon seeing the entrance sign, _Tunnel of Love_. Oh hell no. He turned to look at Law, annoyed.

"You didn't say this ride was gonna be some lovey-dovey suck fest." Now Law looked irritated as well.

"I'm not happy about it either but you can't go on this ride alone."

"That's not any better."

"Look you've got your brother, I'll just go with Jack Daniels here and it'll be fine." Law hooked a thumb to the large bearded man behind him, a large flushed bearded man whose shirt had the picture of a Jack Daniels bottle super imposed on it and large visible armpit stains. Luffy grimaced.

"Okay, fine but seriously if this is the last ride it has to be here."

"It better be." Law said darkly, scowling when the bearded man bumped into him again. Once the couple in front got into the boat, Luffy scooted up with his brother and sighed once the next boat showed up, the attendant waved them forward. He climbed into the boat but Chopper was stopped.

"Sorry, no kids allowed." Chopper looked at Luffy worriedly and he was about to say something when Law moved up and put his hand on Chopper's head.

"We can't leave him alone." Law stated and the attendant waved toward an area off to the side. Luffy tried to see and could just make out a large ball pit on the side.

"He can stay in the kid area till the ride's done and you come out. You can pick him up then." Chopper looked eagerly at the ball pit and Luffy shrugged.

"S'fine with me." He said and the attendant turned back and took Chopper's hand stamping it with a small pink stamp. Before Law could correct the man, his hand was stamped as well.

"Just so your dad can pick you back up okay dude?" Chopper thanked the man and hurried off to the ball pit, not bothered by the mistake. Law scowled and joined him in the boat.

"You know it's good to know our son's having fun out there." He teased the surgeon.

"Shut up." The boat slowly began to pull forward and Luffy took one last look out to where Chopper was playing before settling back in his seat. It was a little awkward, the boat gently bobbed around artificial bends and there were tons of neon heart shaped lights all around them. Many of these lights flashed romantic quotes and he was feeling rather queasy on this ride as well. He glanced at Law, who was also rather pointedly not looking at him. Law was looking a little queasy too from what he could tell.

"If it helps, I'll hold your hair back if you do throw up." Law turned and glared at him. He grinned and leaned back, looking straight up at the ceiling. The ceiling wasn't as bad, it was filled with fake glow stars that vaguely reminded him of his old bedroom ceiling back at the cottage. "I use to have a bunch of these when I was a kid." The boat moved a little as Law looked up as well.

"I did too." He said after a moment before looking back to the sides of the wall. Luffy glanced back to his side of the tunnel. There was nothing within reach and nothing that could be touched without taking a dip in the water though he didn't consider that a bad idea, it sounded better than the ride at least. The boat took a little slide up suddenly before dipping down and splashing into a pond like area. Large plastic hearts were stuck to the walls and he glanced at them as their boat twirled around the tiny current. Much to his surprise the boat came to a stop and they were stuck in the middle of the area.

"Oh c'mon did it break down?"

"No I think this is part of the ride."

"Why would it stop here?" Law pointed at a sign hanging above them. The words _make out point_ brought to him another wave of queasiness. "Oh great we're gonna be stuck here forever."

"Maybe for a few minutes."

"You do know people make out for a long time right?" As soon as he said that Law's scowl returned.

"You know what; I'm tempted to swim back."

"Let's go, there's no clue here anyway." He started to lean over the side of the boat, wondering how shallow the water was when Law grabbed his arm.

"Wait."

"What?"

"Do the walls seem closer here than before?" He sat back, glancing around. The heart mirrors and signs did seem within reach now.

"Yeah so?" Law was staring at one of the heart signs and Luffy watched him slowly reach out and wrench it off the wall. "Whoa, hey wait, Law you can't go ripping stuff off-"

"It came off pretty easily." He said, turning it in his hands, inspecting it before casually dropping the plastic sign into the water. Luffy snickered before turning to look at his side of the wall. He reached out and grabbed a large swan sign and lifted it easily off its hook. There was nothing hidden in or behind it and he dropped it into the water also. He reached for another sign, pleased because now the ride was actually starting to be fun.

"You know this is better than the actual ride."

"A hangover is better than this ride." Law replied, unhooking another sign and dropping it after finding nothing. Luffy reached for another one.

"Going to the dentist is better than this ride."

"Getting a hernia is better than this ride."

"Having your pants on fire is better than this ride."

"Being led off in cuffs and dressed as a clown is better than this ride." Luffy grabbed onto another sign but held onto it, uncontrollably laughing remembering the clown guy's fight with the security guards. Through tears and gasps he tried to follow up but felt the boat began to move again. He grabbed the last sign and flipped it over, nothing inside or behind it. He dropped it in the water and turned to look at Law.

"Nothing and that was my last sign too." Law shook his head and turned to face him.

"I don't think it's here." He said quietly, frowning. Luffy was going to joke but stopped, a large heart mirror was on Law's side and as the boat began to return to its normal course, the heart mirror lined up behind Law's head and he stared at it. "What?"

"That sign's looking pretty big there, and it's a mirror instead of plastic." Law turned to look and Luffy realized that the boat was moving further out of reach of the mirror. "Wait, hang on!" He moved quickly to Law's side of the boat and reached out for it, grasping onto it, his feet hooked into the boat but barely holding on.

"This damn boat is going to tip over-"

"Grab my legs! This sign is really stuck on here!" Law grabbed his legs and he held onto the sign, looking it over. He spotted something square inside of it and determined he tried to wiggle it free from its backing. The boat continued to move and he glanced down to see Law was standing awkwardly in the boat and trying to hold onto his legs.

"Hurry up and take it off the wall!"

"I'm trying it's like they glued this one on!" He kept trying to twist it free, gave up and glanced down at the shallow water below. "I'm not gonna make it, just let me go!" He felt Law grasp his legs more firmly and he laughed a little. "No seriously let me go I got an idea." Law released his legs and he swung them up and planted his feet firmly on the wall. He took a deep breath and pulled, bracing his feet on the wall. With a crack he was sent falling down, tossing the mirror in the direction of the boat before splashing into the pond below.

* * *

He grinned awkwardly as the attendant at the exit handed him a towel to dry himself off with. The broken mirror was leaning on their boat that was pulled out. It had a large heart shaped hole in the back of it.

"Again, sorry bout the wreck you know how make-outs are we got a little too into it." He laughed, not caring about the stares that many people were giving him as they exited the ride, he especially didn't care about the glare the couple he had tipped over when he splashed down either. Law tugged on his arm for them to leave and he did, stopping at the play center as he watched, in amusement as Law was handed Chopper.

"He's such a well-behaved kid, you should be so proud!" Law mumbled a thanks to the lady as Chopper awkwardly looked between them.

"What happened on that ride?" Law set Chopper down and Luffy grabbed onto his hand as they maneuvered through the crowd, leaving the park.

"We fell in." He answered cheerfully. Law snorted.

"He capsized us."

"I did not!"

"You tossed the sign and smashed it into our boat which sank."

"Yeah, I smashed a hole in it, I _sank_ us, not capsized us." Law's response to the correction was to make Luffy sit in the backseat instead. "How is that fair I was right!"

"Backseat." Law snapped and climbed in, gesturing for Chopper to buckle up. Luffy grumbled something about boat terms before sitting in back. Chopper tiredly leaned against the door.

"Did you have fun at least Chopper?"

"Yeah! I'm glad you guys found clues, have you read them yet?"

"Not yet." Law said, slowly pulling out the slightly wet plastic bag. They had to sneak that bag out but at least it was protected by plastic. Luffy leaned over from the backseat to watch Law open it and reach inside. Law paused, frowned and removed a black card.

"Yes! We totally found the next ones!" He cheered, smacking the back of Law's seat.

"Next _one_."

"What?"

"There's only one card in here." Law said and he turned over the small black bag. Luffy dropped down into his seat, deflated.

"Wait so I fell into that water, bumped my head and choked on a plastic cup top and my card isn't even in there?" He demanded, snatching the black plastic bag and searching it again. Law was quietly reading his card and Chopper looked back and forth at the bag and card.

"Maybe it fell out?" He said hopefully, Luffy gave up searching the bag and tossed it aside.

"No I checked it was all sealed up. I can't believe this, I got cheated again!" He slumped back into his seat, rubbing his head. "I'm no good with these puzzles, why couldn't this be video games? Or maybe fighting? Or maybe fighting video games? I could do those." Law gave a sigh and handed Luffy his card.

"Well there was nothing to say that they were together but it is odd that you would find mine. Even if there was only one inside it should have been yours." Luffy took the card and turned it over in his hands.

 ** _An angry man who's green through and through_**

 ** _In his diamond room be careful, he's trying to catch you!_**

He read it again, carefully and groaned loudly before handing the card back to Law. Chopper was still leaning against the door but looked apologetically at Luffy.

"Sorry…maybe it was there but we didn't see it?" He said quietly, Luffy patted him reassuringly on the head. It wasn't anyone's fault. Law tapped at the steering wheel for a moment with his card, lost in thought.

"Maybe someone else got to it first?" Law said quietly. Luffy blinked a few times at that.

"Wait, so I did get cheated again?"

"Maybe, someone else might have moved it. Yours should have been there for sure, so why was mine there?" Suddenly, Law tossed the card into the backseat and was opening his door. He called after the surgeon and then hopped out of the car as well, hearing Chopper also getting out. He chased after Law who was running back to the entrance but had slowed at the corner, looking around.

"Hey what the hell, what are you-"

"Which way did he go?"

"What, who?" Law did a full circle around, looking at the last remaining cars parked in the lot.

"That klutz of a clown! We saw him from the Ferris wheel, he was being led away to this lot. Did you see where else he went?" He demanded and Luffy glanced around, trying to remember.

The clown was led off to their parking lot but he wasn't sure in which direction the man actually left. He glanced around but didn't notice any odd or clownish looking cars around.

"No I don't remember…" Chopper had caught up to them and after a moment mentioned he hadn't seen much after that. Law sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose and Chopper looked up at Law.

"Why is the clown guy important?" He asked. Law glanced down at him and sighed.

"Cause that clown guy had fallen into some water and the ride we came from is the only water ride so he must have been searching for the clues as well." With that, Law turned and began to head back to the car, Chopper silently trailing after him. Luffy didn't move just yet, he stared out to where he'd seen the clown last, his fist clenched and jaw set. He was really, really tired of being cheated out of his clues.

* * *

 **AN: Sorry for the long, long absence! Thanks for patiently waiting.**


	7. Dangerous Waters Ahead

They hadn't said anything upon being dropped off. Law once again told him about calling with any new info and Luffy watched the tall man drive away from his porch, confused. Chopper had opened the front door but was looking back at him curiously.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." He said, almost sighing about it. He headed inside after Chopper and taking another glance at the road before shutting the door behind them. He began to help prepare a dinner but went slowly, thinking too hard about clowns and the day they had to really focus on doing anything.

* * *

Garp was making fun of something on the TV but he wasn't paying attention, just gave a fake smile when the old man looked over now and then but felt odd otherwise. He wasn't sure if he should be worried or nervous. Finally Garp mentioned going to sleep, gave him a rough hug and headed out, he turned the TV to the news but didn't hear anything about a recent murder and shut it back off. An awful silence filled the room and he wondered if he should sleep or bathe.

He pulled out his phone, hesitated but dialed Ace's number. It picked up quickly and heard his brother mumble a sleepy hello.

"Hey bro."

"I'm not complaining but why are you calling so late?"

"I-I just wanted to talk to someone."

"Everything okay? Garp not being too hard on you?"

"Things are fine it's just…" He trailed off, not sure if he wanted to talk about Law's deal or what that meant.

"Luffy?"

"I was thinking about the beach, you know the cave area?" He blurted suddenly feeling stupid for mentioning it. He heard Ace chuckle.

"The one we went to every summer? What about it?"

"I just, I don't know I remembered you and Sabo always ditching me to poke around in it." He said, not sure why he was bringing this old memory up. Ace laughed.

"It wasn't really a cave, more of a den and we didn't ditch you, you couldn't keep up!"

"You totally did."

"Did not, you were a terrible hunter so you never caught up to us." He felt himself freeze in his seat.

"Hunter?" He asked quietly, confused. Ace laughed again.

"You know, we played hide and seek and hunted each other. The three of us, or did your rock for brains forget that?" He slipped a hand in his pocket, pulling out the first card.

 _The three of us._

"R-right I remember."

"Yeah we got carried away once and Sabo fell from that big tree? Garp yelled at us so bad my ears hurt thinking back to that. I don't even know why I got grounded the longest!"

 _The three of us._

"No one else played with us right?"

"Yeah there were some kids there but they never did. Just us three being idiots. Why you bringing all this back up?"

"Nah, I just…was thinking about you."

"I'm touched."

"You know what I mean, before the accident."

"I know. Why did you really call? You sound different."

"I've, well I've been-"

"Garp says you're seeing someone. Is that it?"

"Yeah, that's it I don't know if it'll work out." He lied, not being able to mention the deal after all. Ace sighed.

"It'll work out. Don't mind Garp he's picky with anyone we date, he'll get over it. Eventually."

"Yeah."

"You'll bring them around right? I wouldn't mind seeing them either. You haven't seen anyone in a long time."

"Okay. Maybe if it works out well."

"It will, if they like seeing you despite you being so busy they must be nice. Unless they are making you feel bad?"

"No just uh, just getting a lot of gifts from them lately is all." He lied, wondering if the deal counted as a gift.

"I'm sure it's all good. Don't worry about it too much and just leave them if they get too much alright?"

"Yeah."

"Well I better go, unlike you I have to sleep thanks to this medicine. Call me at a decent waking hour next time would ya?"

"Yeah sorry, night bro."

"Night." He hung up, going to his room and changing into his sleeping shirt, and falling onto his bed. He couldn't tell Ace about the surgery that was going to happen soon. He couldn't tell anyone really, and even though he felt they were getting somewhere he was still behind. He fell asleep trying to recall which direction the clown man was leaving in.

* * *

He woke up to his phone ringing and groaning smacked it and heard a familiar robotic voice.

"Forty-nine participants remain. Fifteen have found their fourth clue that is all." He groaned, at least the others were stuck as well seeing as no one had progressed these past weeks, feeling lazy he rolled over to fall back asleep. He heard Garp moving about in the kitchen, he didn't want to work today and he heard his grandpa opening the door.

"Luffy? You up boy?"

"Yeah."

"Good news, your work called, said you can stay home today." Surprised he decided not to question it and rolled over to sleep again. He woke several hours later to Chopper tugging on his dangling hand. He grunted, and got up, following Chopper into the kitchen.

He made the boy a sandwich and then sat tiredly at the old table, feeling it wobble slightly as they sat. Chopper dug in and he glanced at the books piled up on the table. A lot were school books but a few that were opened were some story books and he noticed a new one propped open nearby. It was opened to a picture of a large sneaking wolf and what appeared to be a garden but he didn't recognize it.

"Red riding hood?"

"Kinda, only it's about a boy and wolf."

"Oh yeah that one, where the boy tells lies." He felt a bit of guilt at that, he'd been telling lies and stories an awful lot too lately.

"I'm not sure but it's good so far." He leaned back in his chair, thinking of what would need to be done today. He'd at least clean and then he'd call Law to see if they could track down the clown guy. Chopper hopped down to clean up and he got up as well, deciding on doing laundry.

The boy helped him, from dropping off dirty clothes and from the both of them racing across the floors in their socks, sweeping and mopping. He'd just about finished dusting the living room when Garp had come home, smacking the door open and slamming it shut.

"What-"

"Seems all that rain from before was leading to an all-out storm. Got offa work early." His grandpa bent, removing boots and the grocer's apron. "We got plenty of water here yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Good." The old man stomped over to the Tv and flicked it on. The Weather channel right away showed large amounts of dark cloudy pictures and a hurricane warning that his grandpa balked at. "Figures, I'll go get the candles." Garp brushed past him and he could hear Chopper trying to help. He glanced back at the news, while a small weather map was in the corner of the screen the rest of the reporters were talking back and forth and a picture of Charloss was displayed on the screen. He chanced a look behind him to make sure the others weren't really listening and turned it up, heart racing, had they been caught?

" _-Ere's Daniel with the latest discovery. Daniel?" The camera cut to a man with an obvious toupee standing outside the Raftel police station._

" _That's right as of this morning details were released that Charloss Saint, of the Saint family has been reported as killed some time ago. New evidence has been found that has prompted police to allow coverage of the crime, though there are no main suspects at this time. Lead investigators Smoker and Philips report that they now have a good lead on the cause of the murder._

" _And how does that work with the evidence they found earlier today?"_

" _We do not know what they found, but it was mentioned that the evidence was found inside the hotel room where Mr. Saint had been found along with a missing family heirloom found elsewhere."_ The camera panned out show a small image of the park before returning to the reporter. He had frozen at the mention of evidence in the hotel. Had the murderer left something behind after all?

" _Daniel can you give us any more details about the case?"_ At that moment Daniel had moved to the side as a woman wearing thick glasses appeared beside him, she looked stern and upset.

" _Here I am with officer Tashigi, officer can you tell us anymore about the case?"_ He held the microphone out to her and she frowned at him.

" _Other than what was said earlier this morning, no new developments have been released. However I have been told to inform the news stations that while the case is releasing very little details we are almost ready to wrap it up."_

" _Officer Tashigi, what was the type of evidence found in the hotel room_?" She adjusted her glasses.

" _We found a good deal of evidence, all I can say is we have found a different blood type located at the scene from the victim. Otherwise I cannot say anything more."_

" _Officer-"_

Whatever else the man was going to say was cut off as he heard Garp and Chopper coming back into the living room, turning down the news quickly. They said nothing, set out the candles and Chopper bounced around the windows, looking out at the storm thrashing about and knocking limbs off trees. Garp told him to come away from the window and made a joke about their trailer getting blown over but Luffy couldn't laugh because he was feeling sick.

He rushed to the bathroom, sitting down on the toilet and holding his face, trying to control his breathing. They had found evidence, blood inside but when they went in to look he hadn't seen any blood. The horrifying thought that crossed his mind made him look down at his still healing hand. It had been briefly wrapped up that day, but he was sure he hadn't opened it when searching. Then he remembered the sharp pain of stepping on something and tripping into Law. Carefully he lifted up his left foot. Nothing. He breathed out slowly and lifted his right foot, looking carefully in the light.

There was a faint line on the bottom of it, where a cut had once been but healed and he felt his heart thudding hard in his ears. He had left blood at the scene. They had a main suspect now. He felt sick.

He was going to have to call Law. He had to do so now, forget the clown or clues. He pulled out his cellphone and froze no signal. Then as if fate knew how screwed he was, the power went out.

They had stretched out in the living room, Garp and Chopper playing monopoly and making jokes now and then and Luffy pretending to be asleep on the couch. Really he was just lying there; trying to remain calm as the storm raged outside and they heard what must have been another tree falling nearby. The only comfort he had was that the police couldn't call him if there was no signal.

* * *

He tried to sleep, tried to rest but he was thinking too hard and it was starting to hurt. He didn't understand anything. Why would a clown take his clue? Why take just his clue? He rubbed at his face and remembered the cut on his foot, long forgotten about due to the weather but it rushed to the front of his mind then. He had left evidence.

He sat upright then, startling Chopper. The two of them had set out a board game but he'd chosen not to play, he was just too tired.

"Oh you're awake Luffy want to play with us?"

"Actually I just remembered I had to go somewhere."

"In a storm like this?" Garp asked, looking at him with concern. The hurricane warning might have passed but the thunderstorms would continue to come.

"It's calmed down some, it's important I need to go." Both of them looked at him like he'd lost his mind and Garp sighed.

"Alright the radio did say we lucked out of a hurricane but you better be going somewhere inside."

"I will be."

"Call me if something comes up." He nodded, took the offered flashlight and raced out into the storm. The rain was absolutely pouring and he was soaked by the time he'd gotten into his car. He pulled out his cellphone and began to drive out, looking for a signal. Once he got a small bar he sent a quick text to Law asking for the Surgeon's address. There was a long while before he got an answer back and he turned the car around and headed down a sea road.

* * *

He pulled up at the apartment complex and parked his car quickly in a free space before rushing up. The apartments were nice but not all that big; the nicest thing about them was that they were far removed from the town and nearby the sea. He got up to the third floor, rushed to Law's door and banged on it. Hard. The door was wrenched open and Law looked at him, annoyed and jerked him inside.

"You want to tell me what's so important-"

"I think I left my blood at the hotel." He blurted. Standing there, soaked through and shaking and out of breath. Law looked at him slowly and then turned and shut the door normally. Luffy noticed the amount of locks on the door and how long it took Law to lock them all. "Law?"

"Let me get you a towel." The man said and left, going down the small hallway and disappearing. Luffy stood there shivering and glancing around. The living room was a bit more modern and sleek than he thought but it was also empty like the office. No photos or personal items were really sitting out, save for the familiar coat laying on the back of the couch and Law's ring, sitting on the table next to a steaming mug of coffee and some folders.

The man returned handing him a fluffy towel and going to sit back down. He dried himself quickly, noticing that Law was wearing sweatpants and a loose grey t-shirt. Satisfied he was dry enough he sat down in the chair across from the couch.

"I'm sorry."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I stepped on something and I tripped, I forgot about it but there was a cut." He lifted his foot so Law could see and then set it back down. "I'm sorry we're gonna be in trouble."

"No we aren't."

"But they have my blood-"

"Type." Law interrupted, taking a sip from the coffee cup and he stared at the man.

"But the cameras-"

"Saw us going in and we had a room to stay in remember? Nothing suspicious." He felt stupid now, had he really driven out here in a panic over nothing? Law set the cup back down and leaned back into the couch, arms draped over the back.

"Shit, I'm sorry I haven't…I haven't really been thinking as hard as I should have." He tried to laugh at himself but the laugh sounded strained and Law's expression didn't change.

"You look terrible."

"Rude."

"Have you been sleeping at all?"

"Is it that obvious?" Law sighed and got up again, disappearing down that dark hallway once more. He used the towel to dry some more at his hair and noticed the ring again, sitting out on the table and shining under the glow of the lamp nearby. He shot a glance back at the hallway and leaned forward and picked it up, turning it around in his fingers.

It was breathtaking up close, small carvings of hearts going up the side of it and the pink diamond itself almost glowing against his fingers. He moved it around and noticed a small inscription on the inside of the ring.

 _When I'm with you, my heart is free._

He heard a door close and quickly put it back, making it look like he never picked it up. Law returned, only briefly going into the kitchen first and returning with a glass of water. The man dumped a pill into his hand and handed him the water.

"What's this?"

"A melatonin pill, it'll help you sleep." He hesitated and the surgeon closed his hand around the pill, fingers as cold as before. "It's nothing bad, but you need sleep." He took it, quickly swallowing it down and then going back to holding his head. Law sat back down.

"Okay, well what about the clown guy?"

"I've pulled up employee records and made a few calls, but it seems the clown was temporarily working there." Law reached down to the table and pushed a folder over to him. "Got a record and an address but when I went to find the place, there was nothing." Luffy picked up the folder and opened it, staring at the picture of the clown.

"His name is…Buggy?"

"Yes, and he's currently unemployed running around the place and he has no home."

"Why doesn't he have a home?" At that Law took a picture out of another folder and passed it to him.

"Because it seems that Buggy pissed off the wrong person because his house burned down."

"So he got in trouble with some bad guys huh?" He asked, rubbing at his face, feeling the tiredness slowly starting to set in. He'd need to get himself some of these pills.

"Most likely. Buggy seems to be in the game but I suppose seeing how desperate he is he might have gotten tangled up with some other players." He yawned but didn't know what to say. Outside the wind was blowing rain onto the window and he felt a bit better but was unsure. A clown involved with bad people stealing clues, the police mentioning they almost have Charloss's murder wrapped up, it all made him feel even more tired than before. Law leaned forward and flipped open one of the other folders.

"So, we can't find him then?"

"We can. It'll just take some effort." Law passed the unopened folder over to him. "In the meantime I'll be off to do your brother's surgery in the morning." He looked up in surprise at that, nearly dropping the folder.

"It's already time?"

"It's better to do it now before we go any further." Law pointed at the folder in his hands. "While I'm doing that you need to read over these notes." He made a face at that.

"Now I have to study?"

"No, there are pictures and summaries of some people and groups we should keep an eye out for. I want you to look over them carefully and finally I want you to call Buggy."

"Call him?"

"He's a desperate clown, call him and talk. He seems easy to provoke so we might be able to get something out of him, including his location. You can do that in the morning as well, this is the only number I have found so don't mess up the phone call." He yawned, rubbing at his face again. Law stood and came to stand beside him, a cold hand on his arm.

"It's kicking in. You can stay in the guest room." He let the man steer him towards the hall and into a sleek and dark bedroom. As soon as he stretched out on it, he groaned. He really needed to get himself a better mattress or something. Law left him, shutting the door behind him and he shut his eyes, finally falling asleep.

* * *

He dreamed about a lot of things that night. Dreamed about Ace and Sabo playing around on the old familiar beach, fishing out items to add to their fort with and he chased after them, trying to keep up but they seemed to get farther away from him.

"Wait up!" He tried to call out but they were already gone, disappearing into the ocean and he stood at the edge of it, fear of the dark water returning suddenly. Then he was spinning, falling back onto the sand and seeing someone running out of the corner of his eye. He tried to stand up but something was crawling from the sea, crawling on top of his small body." Don't." He wanted to say but the creature did not listen, started to drag his body into the sea." Stop." He tried to shout but he was scared and small and no one else was around and his punches did nothing.

"Are you really giving up that easily?" He heard Law say and he could see the man approaching and grabbing his arms pulled him free of the creature.

"Law?"

"You really are hopeless by yourself." The surgeon said, carrying him to a smoother part of the beach and setting him out. He sat up reaching out for the man as thanks and noticed something odd staring at them from the darkness of the den.

"I think someone's here."

"No one's here." But the eyes that watched them got closer and he felt the fear return but this time it wasn't for himself, but for the arms reaching out from the den and encircling themselves around the surgeon, around the man's neck and pulling away.

"To the sea no one is free."

* * *

He woke up, shaking and breathing hard and looking around. The storm outside was still going but it was quieter and significantly darker as well. There wasn't much light in the room and it took him a moment to remember that he was at Law's apartment. He got up, stumbled out the door and looked around.

The living room lamps were off and Law had cleaned up. He glanced down the highway to the other door and hesitated before going down it, reaching for Law's door. Locked. He left it, not sure why he bothered and stumbled into the kitchen for water.

Sitting at the counter with a glass he checked his phone. It was six in the morning and he sighed, rested but feeling a bit weary of this. Thunder shook the apartment and he set his face against the cool counter top. He could hear rain moving across the roof and down into gutters and he slowly started to shut his eyes, not caring if he fell asleep out here.

A door slammed and he jerked up, seeing the hall light flicker on and Law's tall shadow moving out into the kitchen. Law paused at the doorway, spotting him but continued past him towards the fridge.

"What are you doing up?" He grumbled to the man.

"Typically people getting up at this time indicate work." He rolled his eyes at that, but grinned.

"Are you always like this in the morning?"

Law didn't answer that, instead the man moved back and forth, making coffee, he set his head back down on the counter and closed his eyes, listening to the coffee maker starting up. He opened his eyes when he heard a small click on the counter and noticed that Law had set out a small bowl of cereal in front of him.

"Now, that you've had some sleep you can eat."

"I had some crazy dreams."

"That typically happens with the tablets."

"Can I-"

"I'll give you five more to take with you. Half of one is good enough but I think for someone missing so much sleep that whole one was needed."

"Thanks." He ate his cereal, enjoying the crunch of sugar. He'd still had no work, not with the weather this bad and he was kind of glad. Law got up, poured them cups of coffee and sat back down, sipping quietly. The silence that stretched between them was comfortable, it wasn't quite the same as a busy dinner table but he didn't mind this peace, at least he didn't have to argue over food. In fact Law let him have a second bowl, then a third and at some point he had eaten the whole box worth.

"We have a lot to do today."

"Yeah."

"I'll be gone all day. Call Buggy and wait until I'm back." He nodded but then looked awkwardly around.

"I can wait here?"

"If you want. I'll set out the phone you need to use for Buggy." Law stood up, putting the dirty mug in the sink and heading back to his room. Luffy finished up, set his dish in the sink and then popped into the bathroom, looking his face over. He looked a bit worn but nevertheless rested. Law was walking by, dressed neatly and hair combed but still somehow looking messy.

He waved Law off, not wanting to make Ace wait any longer for the surgery. He glanced around the bathroom and went back to the kitchen, washing up their dishes and noticing the small bundle of clothes left out on the couch. He took them, deciding to shower and change into them instead of his stiff and dirty ones and tried to remind himself to bring these back later.

After showering he dressed and took a seat on the couch, staring at the cellphone Law left on the table for him. He picked it up and stared at the numbers. He didn't know a thing about Buggy aside from the notes on him, he could scare the man but that might be bad or he could argue but he wasn't sure. Law had told him to get the clown talking for a while and even reveal things but he wasn't so sure he could do that.

He thought briefly of Ace being prepared for surgery and all the other participants running around for their clues. It wasn't a choice anymore, he'd have to convince Buggy to talk somehow, he wasn't going to fall behind anymore and it was his turn to do something.

He carefully dialed the numbers in and waited.


End file.
